1.26.16

Suggested lead:   In Olympia Tuesday, lawmakers in the House looked for ways to bring down Washington's distressingly high suicide rate. Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:70 total):  About a thousand people a year in Washington take their own lives.  The suicide rate here is significantly higher than the national average, and it's a ranking no one takes pride in.  Representative Tina Orwall wants to drive that rate down, and things her Safe Homes Project might do the job.  Designed to raise awareness of suicide and its danger signs, the project creates a task force with members ranging from the NRA and the 2d Amendment Foundation to gun-control groups, pharmacists, survivors of suicide attempts, and veterans organizations. Orwall, a Democratic lawmaker from Des Moines, has written several laws that have helped bring the suicide rate down, but feels like the Safe Homes Project is an important next step.

ORWALL:  "We know we need to take more action.  We've done some good steps around training, but there's so much more we can do, and that's why we built this new coalition, to really see how can we be working together to find real solutions." [:12]

Orwall's bill, with a wide range of Democratic and Republican cosponsors, had a public hearing at the Capitol Tuesday.  She expects it to be OK'd by the Judiciary Committee this week and head to the full House for final action shortly afterward.  In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.

 

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