Walk The Talk America

Common hysteria to the contrary, two-thirds of deaths where a firearm is used are suicides, which is doubly sad as no gun control "solution" even pretends to address this.

Proposition Paper 72 by Mental Health America, the longest-running mental health organization in the country, plainly states they don’t take an issue with firearm ownership. "MHA does not take a position on policy measures such as gun control because it is not part of MHA’s core mission." Only 5% of people that battle with mental health are actually violent. Worse, the stigma placed on mental health is just as bad as the one put on the firearm industry.

One example of this stigma is the statistic that 22 veterans take their own lives every day (one suicide every 65 minutes). The Military Veteran Project started their 22 A Day awareness campaign to prevent military suicide through treatment and research not accessible or available by the Department of Defense or Veterans Affairs, adding in the stigma of being viewed as "weak" for seeking needed help.

In July 2018, Walk The Talk America (WTTA) was founded to reduce firearm suicides and other negative incidents associated with firearm ownership in an effective manner without wrongly blaming it on guns.

Created by Michael Sodini, a firearms industry veteran that worked for and eventually became president of Eagle Imports Inc., this was started as a movement within the firearms industry to bridge the gap between mental health professionals and the firearm industry and gun owners to reduce suicide by firearm and gun violence.

Through educational programs, podcasts, and training programs, WTTA is paving the way for educating mental health professionals about gun culture and breaking down the negative stigmas around mental health for gun owners.

Through its various programs and offerings, such as instructional flyers and slides for firearms instructors, classes in Cultural Competence, and Introductory Courses in The Intersection of Guns and Mental Health, WTTA is leading the conversation and opening doors throughout the firearms industry and mental health industry. Many are battling something internally and mental health is something that affects us all.

Many people we may know or are close to are one degree away from it, possibly including family, friends, partners, or colleagues. For more information on how to become involved, visit WalkTheTalkAmerica.org. There you can take and direct others to the WTTA Mental Health Screening Test. Following the screening, you will be provided with information, resources, and tools to help you understand and improve your mental health.

In addition to online screening resources, WTTA provides information sheets/brochures and instructor materials for free download. The Cultural Competence Classes, offered online as introductory and intermediate versions, help educate medical and mental health professionals about the reality of gun owners (not false media hype) and to give gun owners a better understanding how those professionals do their jobs. John M. Buol Jr. AmericanGunsmith.info