{"id":77660,"date":"2024-01-23T20:04:58","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T20:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/01\/23\/tim-kennedy-takes-veteran-suicide-forum-to-nations-largest-gun-show\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:04:30","slug":"tim-kennedy-takes-veteran-suicide-forum-to-nations-largest-gun-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2024\/01\/23\/tim-kennedy-takes-veteran-suicide-forum-to-nations-largest-gun-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Kennedy takes veteran suicide forum to nation\u2019s largest gun show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/04\/17\/tim-kennedy-reenlists-in-special-forces-praises-u-s-dropping-mother-of-all-bombs\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tim Kennedy \u2015 a Green Beret, former UFC fighter,<\/a> and by his own telling \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/07\/tim-kennedy-talks-about-trying-not-to-die-in-new-tv-show\/\" target=\"_blank\">one of the baddest dudes on the planet<\/a>\u201d \u2015 is prepared to get called other things when he engages with gun owners about the crisis of veteran suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been called a traitor for<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2024\/01\/23\/new-helmet-mounted-power-data-combo-devices-premiere-at-shot-show\/\" target=\"_blank\"> even having this conversation at SHOT Show,<\/a>\u201d Kennedy told Military Times via phone days before the start the annual <a href=\"https:\/\/shotshow.org\/\">Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show<\/a>, the nation\u2019s largest firearms trade expo in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other names he\u2019s heard: Turncoat and \u201cFudd\u201d \u2015 a reference to Elmer Fudd, the hapless Looney Tunes hunter who didn\u2019t know how to use his rifle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kennedy gets it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to headlining The Independence Fund\u2019s \u201cTargeting a Solution\u201d panel discussion of veteran suicide at the Venetian hotel, adjacent to the SHOT Show trade floor, on Wednesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/01\/17\/tim-kennedy-retires-from-the-ufc-mixed-martial-arts\/\" target=\"_blank\">he\u2019s a featured guest at events throughout the week<\/a> and even fired the ceremonial first shot to open Monday\u2019s media range day event.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2024\/01\/23\/new-helmet-mounted-power-data-combo-devices-premiere-at-shot-show\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gentex-Railink-side-view-green.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">New helmet-mounted power, data combo devices premiere at SHOT Show<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Two companies showcase ways to power and transfer data to helmet-mounted devices, a key space-saving option for soldiers carrying more tech than ever.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He\u2019s a firearm owner and enthusiast, and believes the constitutional right to own guns should be protected. But he\u2019s also been personally and profoundly affected by the loss of friends in the military community to suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And as he notes, there\u2019s a close connection between the two matters: <a href=\"https:\/\/everytownsupportfund.org\/ask-a-veteran-suicide-prevention-and-awareness\/#:~:text=updated%3A%2011.16.2021-,An%20average%20of%204%2C500%20veterans%20die%20by%20firearm%20suicide%20every,who%20have%20served%20our%20country.\">71% of the 4,500 annual veteran suicide<\/a> deaths involve a firearm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAre these mutually exclusive things, or are there ways that we can have conversations around suicide and firearms especially related to veterans without encroaching on the Second Amendment?\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cAnd that is why we do it at SHOT Show, because it is such a polarizing place to be, and there are so many radicals on both sides of this conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Independence Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2007, is dedicated to helping veterans overcome \u201cphysical, mental, and emotional wounds incurred in the line of duty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SHOT Show panel, which will also feature podcaster Dan Hollaway and veteran entrepreneurs and personalities Jason Murff, Brian Goldstein, Cody Garrett and Eli Cuevas, will include an unscripted discussion between the panelists on the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, attendees will divide into smaller groups to brainstorm about policy and private-sector ways to safeguard the lives of at-risk veterans. The goal, Kennedy said, was to develop ideas that can be brought back to communities and local governments for implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the panelists change from event to event, all have been headlined by Kennedy, a Special Forces master sergeant, author and on-screen personality who competed in the UFC from 2011\u20132017. He was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In previous panels, which also have taken place in Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and at the the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, attendees have debated \u201cred flag\u201d laws and whether individuals and communities should instead keep the responsibility of safeguarding a veteran\u2019s firearms during moments of crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The also have talked about how to better train law enforcement officers to interact with armed veterans during mental health episodes: to talk with them, establish rapport, and avoid flanking them or triggering threat responses. And sometimes, Kennedy said, the impact of having an open and candid conversation about veteran suicide is more personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt ends up being really powerful and impactful, and almost magical,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have people stand up in the audience and be like, \u2018Man, you straight up saved my life with this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kennedy first lost a friend \u2015 his training partner at U.S. Army sniper school \u2015 to suspected suicide in 2008, well before the crisis of military suicides had entered the national conversation. Since then, he said, he\u2019s seen \u201ccountless\u201d friends and buddies die by suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Kennedy and The Independence Fund founder Sarah Verardo, the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/05\/30\/how-marines-brought-order-to-the-skies-during-the-kabul-airlift\/\" target=\"_blank\"> 2021 U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan <\/a>and the feelings of moral injury and despair that followed for many veterans particularly demanded a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have never seen such morale and mental health issues come to an acute point,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cEvery (Global War on Terror) soldier that served in Afghanistan was questioning everything about their friends that lost their legs, their friends that died overseas, their friends that are struggling with PTSD \u2026 it was just this tidal wave of mental health issues, with suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sean Lee, deputy chief of operations at The Independence Fund, told Military Times that a growing awareness of the problem is enabling better conversations about solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is discussed on a more open level than I would say it was five or six years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cWhich is good \u2026 that\u2019s how we need to attack this. No one entity, government, private, mixture, is going to have the answer. But the more we get it out there, the more answers and suggestions and ideas we can field and apply to the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated on Feb. 1 to correct the spelling of Jason Murff\u2019s name. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tim Kennedy \u2015 a Green Beret and former UFC fighter  \u2015 is prepared to be called other things when he engages with gun owners about veterans&#8217; suicide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,69,16,26,17,21,67],"tags":[8474],"coauthors":[3359],"class_list":["post-77660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-gearscout","category-news","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-veterans","category-your-air-force","tag-veterans-suicide"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6L6KK2UPYBFDDJIAVD632JV6VE","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2024\/01\/23\/tim-kennedy-takes-veteran-suicide-forum-to-nations-largest-gun-show\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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