Bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing veteran suicides is expected to hit the Missouri Senate floor soon.
The Missouri House recently voted 157-0 to approve the bill from Missouri House Veterans Committee chairman Rep. Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City). The bill tasks the Missouri Veterans Commission with expanding its efforts to prevent veteran suicide. Chairman Griffith tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that his two-page House Bill 1495 is important to lawmakers in both parties, and says House discussion was emotional.
“There was one point in time there Stephanie where you could have heard a pin drop on the floor. Representative Mike Haffner told a story about a really good friend of his, an admiral, that committed suicide. And it was a very emotional speech that he gave,” Representative Griffith says.
State Rep. Mike Haffner (R-Pleasant Hill) led combat air patrols over New York City following the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Chairman Griffith says veteran suicides are a crisis that must be addressed by state lawmakers. He joined us live on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”, describing the issue as a crisis.
“But in the veteran community right now, we’re looking at a rate of 45.2 percent per thousand, 100,000 veterans committing suicide compared to 23.8 percent of the civilian population. So we’ve got an issue there, it’s a crisis and I think we’re trying to address that on the House side,” Chairman Griffith says.
Representative Griffith tells listeners that he’s confident that the Missouri Senate will act on his bill.
