The Alabama Senate has passed a bill which would give gun owners struggling with mental health challenges the option to voluntarily surrender their firearms.

Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, sponsored Senate Bill 40, named the "Houston/Hunter Act" in honor of Houston Lee Tumlin and Hunter Chase Whitley, two veterans who died by suicide.

Data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs showed about 86% of veteran suicides in Alabama involve firearms. Kelley said the bill was inspired by their stories, with hopes similar tragedies can be prevented.

"Their mothers feel like that if this bill had been in place and they could have turned in those firearms voluntarily, that it would have likely saved their lives," Kelley explained.

The bill also protects gun dealers and law enforcement from lawsuits if a firearm is returned and later misused. However, if they violate laws while handling a returned firearm, they could still be held accountable. The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

Sen. Merika Coleman Evans, D-Birmingham, voiced her support for the measure on the Senate floor. She also urged fellow lawmakers to consider Senate Bill 170, which she said is an initiative with a more proactive approach to removing firearms from individuals who could harm themselves or someone else.

"My bill is not a 'voluntary,' but it is an opportunity for us to get those firearms away from people who have deemed to be a threat to themselves or others," Coleman Evans outlined.

Under her bill, law enforcement or a person's family members, along with teachers and school staff, would have the ability to petition for a Gun Violence Protective Order.


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A new report finds that Maryland has made progress in providing school mental health services to its students but work still remains. The report by the national mental health advocacy organization, Inseparable, measures states based on 13 policy targets.

Maryland has improved its ratio of social workers to students. There is one social worker for every 620 students - a decline from more than 2,300 students in previous years. But the state has not implemented, or only partially implemented, five policies, such as expanding Medicaid coverage to include school-based mental health services.

Caitlin Hochul, vice president of public policy with Inseparable, said providing mental health services in schools has major impacts on students and parents alike.

"You're reducing the financial strain on parents," she explained. "You're reducing the need for reliable transportation. You don't need to be taking a lot of time off of school to go travel to an appointment, so it really helps give kids the resources and tools they need to get back in the classroom and learn."

Maryland also lacks mental health screenings of students, a tool that advocates say is critical to identify potential mental health issues.

The Maryland state legislature recently passed laws geared toward bolstering the behavioral health workforce. One law made school mental health professionals eligible for the state's loan repayment plan, and another created a state workforce development program for mental health professionals.

Sen. Malcolm Augustine, D-Prince George's County, said a focus of the state legislature has been working to bring - and keep - mental health professionals in the state.

"It's challenging right now for us to attract and retain these folks," he said. "It's a global issue, so we are trying to do our very best to create opportunities for them to have their loans repaid, opportunities for them to grow professionally, in the hopes that we'll be able to retain and grow our own."

Maryland lawmakers also passed laws requiring education and health agencies to provide guidelines for student telehealth appointments on school days.

The Iowa Legislature is weighing a measure to expand the use of psychedelic mushrooms to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental and emotional disorders.

House File 978 passed the House and awaits action in the Senate.

Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, sponsored the measure, and said it would create a board to oversee the use of psilocybin, including the one found in so-called "magic mushrooms."

"Right now, there is data and proof that shows 82% of the time, a person with PTSD will have symptoms reduced and/or completely cured with as little as one treatment of psilocybin in a controlled environment," Wills explained. "That's the key, it has to be done in a controlled environment."

Wills emphasized the setting is important because mental health professionals counsel patients through a past traumatic event during the experience, and help them find a positive way to process it.

Wills, a military veteran himself, noted mental health professionals can use psilocybin to help address the high suicide rate of U.S. military vets who suffer from PTSD, and added using it in a controlled setting could benefit other people, too.

"Police officers, firemen, emergency room doctors," Wills outlined. "Anybody that suffers trauma at some point and has PTSD or suffers PTSD symptoms, they are more likely to commit suicide."

Neighboring states, including Minnesota and Michigan, have decriminalized psilocybin possession in some cities, but it has not been fully legalized for therapeutic use. The National Institutes of Health has warned against unrealistic expectations, given that psilocybin use is still only in clinical trials.


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Colorado has made significant improvements in connecting young people with the mental health care they need, according to the mental health advocacy organization Inseparable's latest School Mental Health Report Card.

Many of those gains could be erased if the Trump administration signs off on cuts to Medicaid.

Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, said Colorado relies on Medicaid dollars to reach students where they spend most of their time - in school.

"We use Medicaid to cover a lot of school-based health center care," Michaelson Jenet pointed out. "We could lose that completely, and then how do we fund our school based health centers?"

Since the last report card in 2022, Colorado has improved the ratio of mental health professionals to students by adding 43% more psychologists and 70% more social workers. Colorado also got good marks for creating school environments embracing mental health, for example by allowing excused mental health absences and not disciplining students through exclusion.

The state also instituted annual mental health screenings but the future of the program is in question after Colorado's Joint Budget Committee, facing a $2 billion budget deficit, recently cut its funding.

Caitlin Hochul, vice president of public policy for Inseparable, said when you catch a condition early on, students are more likely to be more engaged in school, have academic success and perform better in the workforce later on.

"We really emphasize providing annual screenings to students so you can catch some of those symptoms or flags early on," Hochul explained. "Then connecting them with some of the care that they need."

Under Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, voters would have to approve any new revenues to pay for screenings and other initiatives not making the cut. Michaelson Jenet emphasized she is working to keep effective programs to protect children in place.

"One of the things that I'm grateful that the budget protected this year is the I Matter program, offering free therapy for any school-age youth who wants it," Michaelson Jenet noted. "From the beginning of I Matter, we have seen our suicide rate go down."