There are thousands of bills that get introduced at the state level that never get close to becoming laws, but here’s a story about one that shouldn’t have failed — but did partly because of a conservative Christian talking point.

In Wyoming, HB 62 would have required schools to “include suicide prevention instruction in a health and safety program.”

It was presumably in response to the fact that Wyoming always has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. In 2018, it was the worst. it’s also the only state without an in-state prevention hotline.

When the House Education Committee discussed the bill in January, it passed on a 6-3 vote. But when it was taken up for a vote by the entire State House, it failed 25-34.

Why did it fail?

One of the lawmakers who voted against the bill was Republican State Rep. John Bear whose own son died of suicide more than a decade ago. But rather than help other students avoid that fate, he offered up the worst possible argument for why teaching kids about suicide prevention in school was useless. You can hear it for yourself around the 1:47:47 mark of the video below: (foolow link to see video)