Minnesota doctors who suspect mental health issues are present in patients' homes are hoping to talk more with gun owners about a little-known option: secure storage of firearms at off-site facilities to keep them away from people at risk for suicide.

Doctors at four outstate clinics tested these conversations and found 91% of patients didn't know they could temporarily store firearms off-site, an approach other states have used to reduce suicides.

While guns can be a dicey topic to broach in a clinic, the doctors found owners open to discussing safe storage, especially if they had recently had thoughts of harming themselves or if their loved ones are at risk for suicide, said Juliana Milhofer, public health and policy engagement manager for the Minnesota Medical Association.

"We came into this thinking this is a very taboo topic, that there are a lot of gun owners in rural Minnesota who won't want to talk about this," Milhofer said. "That was an urban myth."

The trade group for the state's doctors is co-leading the safe storage publicity campaign, along with the advocacy group Protect Minnesota and other medical organizations. They recently produced an online map of storage sites across Minnesota and will soon publish the results of the counseling efforts at clinics in Albany, International Falls, St. Cloud and Staples.

The map is only a partial listing. It concentrates on secure storage options near the four clinics, including police departments in Albany, Howard Lake, Long Prairie and Motley, and local pawn shops, self-storage facilities and gun ranges.

The results from the initial four clinics were promising enough that the medical association seeks more doctors to take part in one-hour training on safe storage counseling and then provide the map and options to patients.

"We need more doctors to be part of this work," Milhofer said.

Suicides steadily increased in Minnesota from 524 in 2004 to 860 in 2022 before declining to 813 in 2024, according to the latest state data. Firearms remain the most common means of suicide in the state.

About 48% of suicides in Minnesota since 2018 involved firearms, according to federal data, but that rate increased to 58% when looking at suicides in the most rural areas. The study started in rural areas because of that disparity, but it's expanding to urban ones.

National studies have found suicides can be prevented, especially among children and teenagers, when guns are locked at home and stored separately from ammunition. States such as Colorado and Wisconsin have taken the extra step of advocating off-site storage as a further deterrent to self-harm.

Minnesota appears to be the first state pairing an online map of storage facilities with physician counseling, said Maggiy Emery, executive director of Protect Minnesota.

Gun owners are more likely to trust their doctors and storage sites that include local gun shops, she said. And, Emery said, they can use the option to reduce the risk of gun violence in other situations such as domestic disputes.

"It doesn't feel like this is something that is coming from quote-unquote crazy gun grabbers," she said. "This is giving you an option to store your firearm with someone who is in your community, is aligned with you, understands you, and is just helping you out for a little bit of time while you address whatever you need to address."

Other than mental health or substance abuse issues, common reasons for storing firearms outside the home include travel and children's visits

The Motley Police Department in north-central Minnesota agreed to be a storage site as part of the suicide prevention project. The department already had added a gun safe after state red-flag legislation created a petition process for confiscating firearms from people who present an imminent threat to themselves or others.

So far, only one person has voluntarily brought in a gun, but the approach makes sense compared with taking a firearm to a relative's house for safekeeping, said Motley Police Chief Al Yoder.

"If you're going to give them to your brother, what kind of position are you putting him in?" Yoder said. That's especially true, he said, if the gun owner returns intoxicated or distraught and wants the weapons back.

"It could go south pretty bad," Yoder said.

While patients are receptive to the safe storage counseling, they can be alienated if doctors are judgmental about gun ownership, Milhofer said. "People push back: 'Don't take my guns away!'" she said. "Things like that."

The one-hour training for doctors is provided through the BulletPoints Project, a California resource for clinicians who want to prevent firearm injuries and deaths.

The duration and conditions of firearm storage can vary by site. Some offer free storage; others may charge a fee.

Yoder said he would retrieve guns from storage for people who give advance notice that they want to use them for hunting or sport. But, he said, they "can't just keep coming back and forth."

If you need immediate emotional or mental health support, or are worried about someone else, you can call or text 988 or visit the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline chat to connect online with a trained specialist.