At 3 AM on February 15, 2014, Maryland state police informed Cheryl that her oldest son, Michael Derek Baughan 30, had died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head the previous day. His roommate found him in the bathtub sometime after midnight. Michael declined going out with his roommate on the evening of Valentine’s Day and instead stayed home alone, as Michael wasn’t always very sociable. 

When hearing this news from the Maryland State Police, “I fell to the floor. I wanted to die right then and there. I was in shock. That’s when the hard work started,” Cheryl said. 

It was a devastating conclusion to a story going back to June 2013. 

“In June 2013, he called for help, I had no idea my son was having issues. I asked him why he wasn’t at work. He said he had gone to Walmart and bought a gun in 15 minutes. He was in the bathtub with the gun pointed at himself. I panicked. I don’t remember the two-hour conversation when I went into mother mode to save my child. His life was saved that day, and he put the gun away,” noted Cheryl, a retired psychiatric nurse. 

The next day, Cheryl and Michael’s father traveled to Wilmington, Delaware in an unsuccessful effort to get the gun from Michael. 

On Valentine’s Day evening Cheryl went out with friends. Feeling a bit on edge, Cheryl had just gone to bed when at 3 AM, “I heard the most horrific banging at the front door. It was the Maryland state police. At first, we thought it was about our younger son, who had already been involved in several automobile accidents. The two boys led very different lifestyles.”

Cheryl emphasized that if Michael hadn’t had a gun, he very well could still be alive—even if he tried another method of suicide. Noted Cheryl, “The gun may have made it an impulsive act.” Given her previous experience—successfully talking him “off the ledge” in June 2013—Cheryl said she believes there were other avenues to address his obvious depression, including counseling.

Lack of legal clout to prevent Michael from buying a gun, plus no “Extreme Risk Protection Order” protection that would have given legal authorities the ability to separate Michael from the gun added up to surefire death for Cheryl’s son.

Cheryl decided to channel her despair and loneliness into purposeful, positive energy.  She became part of Moms Demand Gun Sense in Maryland. She helped spur passage of Extreme Risk Protection order legislation in Maryland, along with other mothers who also lost their children to gun suicide. Now, legal authorities have the ability to remove guns from a person who is a danger to themselves or others. 

In 2023, Cheryl helped again in the Maryland Legislation to pass a Safe Storage law. This law prohibits the storage of loaded firearm in a location where a minor could have access to it. This law is designed to separate guns from minors who intend to harm others or themselves. 

Cheryl often wonders if she and her husband would have lost Michael in his younger years if they had kept an unsecured gun in their home. 

“I continue to work any way I can with gun legislation. I’ve gone to Washington DC, participated in national ceremonies and have spoken out on the steps of the Capitol” to advocate for sensible gun violence prevention, noted Cheryl.

In the decade since losing her son to gun suicide, Cheryl Brooks has found many ways to fill her time and make meaningful contributions. She has not been able to fill the void in her heart. She remains driven, however, to help others avoid the pain she feels.