Katrina Brees lost her mother last year to suicide. Donna Nathan, who had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals three times in 2018, was able to buy a .38-caliber revolver the day she died. Eight hours after she bought the gun, she was found dead from a gunshot wound in Audubon Park.
Now, Ms. Brees is trying to keep other families from suffering that kind of loss. Her legislation to allow people to put themselves on a voluntary “do not sell” list for guns was pre-filed Thursday (March 21).
This is a rare chance for the Legislature to come together around a bill that can truly be life-saving.
“Donna’s Law,” named for her beloved mother, is co-sponsored by New Orleans Democrat state Rep. Jimmy Harris and Metairie Republican Rep. Danny Martiny.
In our video about Ms. Brees and Donna’s Law, Rep. Harris said: “We have an opportunity with this particular legislation to be on the forefront of something. The state of Louisiana, we’re always last in everything. Let us be one of the leading states in dealing with mental health and firearms.”
This issue is not about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about saving lives, he said.
Donna’s Law is not an intrusion on gun rights, either. It is a life raft for people who need something to stop them from their impulse to commit suicide.
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