MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Michelle Tumlin and Sharon McDaniel, two mothers of veterans lost to suicide, advocated recently for a new bill that would establish a new temporary firearm surrender program for veterans.
Dubbed the Houston Hunter Act, named after veterans Houston Tumlin and Hunter Whitley, the bill would establish the legal framework required for gun and ammo stores and law enforcement officers to temporarily hold lawfully possessed firearms at the request of the owner for a specified period of time.
The idea behind the bill is to allow for veterans the ability to voluntarily and temporarily surrender their firearms without fear of repercussions, such as losing their ability to possess a firearm or being involuntarily committed.
“I am so honored for my son to be one of the faces on the bill,” Tumlin said, standing behind a podium last week at the National Guard Headquarters during a press conference. “What this bill means to me, as a mom that misses her son, if the Houston Hunter Bill existed on March 23, 2021, would my son still be alive? I have to think that if this bill passes, it’s going to save many lives.”
The program was discussed last summer at a meeting of the Alabama Veterans Mental Health Steering Committee, and was championed by committee member Jason Smith, suicide prevention coordinator for the Alabama National Guard. Smith attended Friday’s press conference, and spoke to the impact he believed the Houston Hunter Act could have on preventing veteran suicide.
“Most of us can all attest to one fact, that most of us have lost more to suicide than we ever did in combat operations; in my last 20 years, I’ve lost several Marines to suicide, and firearms were a part of it,” Smith said.
“The No. 1 issue we have with gun storage (businesses) wanting to do this is liability, and the Houston Hunter Bill is simply a liability bill that protects the gun stores so they can put safes in those gun stores so a veteran can drop their weapon off for whatever period of time they may need. No questions asked, no reporting, no one’s calling the VA, no one’s calling your work, we just want you to go get some help.”
The proposal is one of three preliminary recommendations to come out of the Alabama Veterans Mental Health Steering Committee, and Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, volunteered to carry the bill in the Senate. A member of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety, Kelley also attended the press conference, and said he was confident the bill would be supported by his legislative colleagues.
“When we get this bill passed, they’ll be other mothers just like these two ladies right here that won’t have to go through what these ladies have been through,” Kelley said. “It’s not a cure all for everything, but what it does do is give the opportunity for those to seek some help.”
The bill is being carried in the House by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster. The bills are not yet scheduled for committee hearings.