Last November, Oregon voters passed a sensible gun violence prevention measure that requires gun buyers to complete a background check, attend a safety training and get a permit before purchasing a firearm.

Unfortunately, the implementation of Measure 114 has been stalled by lawsuits brought by the gun lobby. I have confidence that the courts will ultimately rule in favor of Oregon’s voter-approved gun safety policy. And I trust that our elected representatives in Salem will ensure the state is ready to implement Measure 114 once the courts have shown it is in line with both state and federal constitutions.

I only wish that Measure 114 had been in place years ago when it could have made the difference for my family. My husband, Olof, was a respected Oregon physician, a loving husband and an amazing father to our three daughters. He had struggled with depression in college, but had been symptom-free for years.

One spring day 12 years ago, seemingly out of the blue, Olof drove to our local mall, bought a gun with no safety training or waiting period, and shot himself in our back yard. He died within two hours of having purchased the gun. My family was forever changed.

Stories like mine are far too common. Suicide accounts for nearly 80% of gun deaths in Oregon. And guns are by far the most deadly means of suicide, with nearly nine in 10 attempts being fatal. But the vast majority of people who survive an attempt do not go on to die by suicide.

Requiring a permit and safety training to purchase a gun means that new gun purchasers must undergo a waiting period before accessing a firearm, providing a lifesaving opportunity to reconsider or to seek help.

That crucial pause between a terrible decision and gaining access to a firearm could be a life or death difference for thousands of people in the throes of unimaginable and often invisible pain, who impulsively attempt to buy a firearm in order to harm themselves or others. I’m confident that such a pause would have saved my husband’s life on that awful day 12 years ago.

Research from Johns Hopkins University found that Connecticut’s permit-to-purchase law, which includes mandatory safety training, reduced firearm suicides by 33% and reduced firearm homicides by 28%. And after Missouri repealed its firearm permitting law, firearm suicides increased by 23% and firearm homicides increased by 47%.

Permit and safety training requirements save lives. And three out of four Americans, including a majority of gun owners, support firearm permit requirements. But even the most well-crafted permit requirement cannot save lives if its implementation is being held up in the courts by the gun lobby.

Oregon voters were right to pass this common sense approach to making our communities safer and our families less vulnerable. Now it’s time for the courts and lawmakers to follow suit.

Measure 114 can help prevent another story like mine: another impulsive decision carried out without chance for reflection or intervention, another family shattered by a tragedy that need never have happened, and another lifetime of wondering “what if.”