Good Samaritan Firearm Liability Protection
Author: Jess Hegstrom, Suicide Prevention Coordinator
Good Samaritan Firearm Liability Protection
Jess Hegstrom
Suicide Prevention Coordinator
“Good Samaritan Firearm Liability Protection” bill passes into Montana state law.
Worried about a friend? Thanks to a non-partisan effort in the last legislative session, Montanans are now protected from liability if they temporarily take care of a buddy’s firearms during a crisis.
Sponsored by Sen. Ken Bogner – R and Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell – D, Senate Bill 423 entered into law on Oct. 1. Both senators, who worked with firearm community members, Veterans organizations, mental health and suicide prevention advocates to craft the bill, hope the Good Samaritan Firearm Liability Protection Law will save Montana lives from suicide.
“As a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, I had fellow Marines I served with continue to turn to suicide,” Bogner said. “Once I learned that two-thirds of suicides involve a firearm I wanted to work on a bill that would help prevent firearm suicides while still protecting 2nd amendment rights. SB 423 does exactly that.”
This Good Samaritan law limits liability for a person or private entity that returns a firearm to its owner at the end of a written or oral agreement. Immunity does not apply if the agreement is connected to a crime.
During its journey through the 2023 legislature, the bill passed almost unanimously.
“Bills that address firearms rarely get such bipartisan support …, so it felt great that many different perspectives felt this is a great policy to address suicide prevention,” Bogner noted.
Based on 2021 statistics, Montana is ranked second in the U.S. for the highest national rate of suicide. The majority of Montana's suicide attempts involve medication, and 63% of completed suicide deaths in the state involve firearms.
“If Good Samaritans can feel more comfortable about holding onto someone’s firearms if asked and if we can stop just one suicide from happening, this bill is a big success,” Dunwell added.
The effort is tied to collaborative work through the Safer Communities Montana (SCM) lethal means campaign led by the Lewis and Clark Suicide Prevention Coalition in Lewis and Clark, Broadwater and Jefferson counties. SCM brings together pharmacists, members of the firearm community, suicide prevention and mental health advocates, Veterans and the National Guard to promote safe storage of medication and firearms to prevent suicide together. This includes empowering community members to look out for each other and tips for retailers on how to slow down sales if a customer is exhibiting warning signs of suicidal thoughts.
During his testimony before a legislative committee, Jason Swant, a representative of Helena’s Prickly Pear Sportsman’s Association, shared that firearm safety is a priority for the association. He asserted that improving the ability of people to temporarily hold onto others’ firearms is “potentially lifesaving”.
He told legislators, “There should be no liability risk to someone who tries to help a person in crisis [and this] is a commonsense approach to empower individuals, groups, and organizations or maybe even businesses, to offer to safely store/hold firearms for someone in crisis.”
Since the legislative session ended, Bogner, Dunwell, SCM, firearm retailers, Everytown for Gun Safety, and other stakeholders formed a workgroup to improve Montana’s capacity to give community members options to safely store firearms outside of their homes. This could be helpful whether someone is in crisis or they want to protect their firearms while on vacation.
Additionally, SCM is creating a toolkit that leverages the protections provided by the new law. It will feature templates of firearm hold agreements and other adaptable materials that can be adopted by fellow Montana communities.
Sample hold agreements will be available on the SCM website, https://www.safercommunitiesMT.org in months to come, but even without it, you can still temporarily store firearms for a friend or loved one.
“It’s Montanans helping Montanans, and at the end of the day, that’s who we are,” Dunwell said.
If you or a loved one are struggling, please call 9-8-8, Montana’s Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.
For more information about Safer Communities Montana, visit https://www.safercommunitiesMT.org contact Jess Hegstrom, Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Lewis and Clark Public Health, 406-457-8970 or Ali Mullen, Opioid Misuse and Safer Communities Montana Coordinator, Lewis and Clark Public Health, 406-457-8875
Steps for a Safer Community:
The most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones is by adopting safe storage practices in your home today. This can look like:
Medication
- Locking up medication aside from a one-week supply
- Disposing of leftover Rx at a prescription disposal site or by requesting free Deterra drug deactivation systems at https://www.safercommunitiesmt.org
- Ask your doctor to limit prescriptions to no more than a one-month supply.
- Ask your doctor and pharmacist to use blister packs rather than a bottle to dispense opioids and other medications, especially those with suicidal ideation as a side effect.
Firearms
- Unloading and securing all firearms with a gun lock, safe, or another locking device. Store the ammunition separately.
- Have a conversation with your spouse or partner regarding what to do with medication and firearms if either of you ever experiences a mental health challenge.
- Temporarily entrusting firearms to friends or family outside of the home until the crisis has passed.
