19-03-2025
As legislators honor Jonathan Brostoff, some share the belief: 'We are not doing enough.'
If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
MADISON – In one memory, a bushy-haired Jonathan Brostoff conducts a speech entirely in sign language, after vowing to not cut his hair until a bill on the American sign language interpreters passed in the Legislature. In another, Brostoff brings Sprecher root beer, his favorite, to share at the first caucus meeting of the year.
The Wisconsin Legislature adopted a resolution Tuesday honoring the life and public service of Brostoff, a Democratic representative who served the 19th Assembly district from 2014 to 2023. He also served on the Milwaukee Common Council from 2022 until Nov. 4, 2024, when he died by suicide. He was 41 and is survived by his wife, Diana Vang-Brostoff, their four young children, and his parents, Phyllis and Alan Brostoff. His parents and wife attended the ceremony at the State Capitol.
The resolution was introduced by 15 Democratic state senators and four Republican state senators.
Many members of the Assembly brandished green ribbons, the symbol of mental health awareness, and shared memories of the former representative. They spoke of different parting words he'd offer people: "Bless up;" "I appreciate you;" and "We all do better when we all do better."
Rep. Supreme Moore Omokunde, D-Milwaukee, offered a Jewish expression, often uttered in mourning, "May his neshama have an aliyah," which means "May his soul be elevated."
His former colleagues described him as fierce, tenacious, loyal, a person who did not give up on his convictions. One of his most passionate topics was also a lifelong struggle: suicide prevention.
For Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, it was the table slap she remembers most distinctly. Brostoff, who served on the Speaker's Task Force on Suicide Prevention, slapped his palm on a table hard at a Wauwatosa meeting as he said, "We are not doing enough." His fury shook Vining and the act stayed with her.
"My first feeling after he died was, 'We have not done enough,'" Vining said.
Rep. Paul Tittl, R-Manitowoc, who co-chairs the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention, talked about Brostoff as a deeply spiritual friend. He used his time to share a concerning statistic: one in five people are affected by mental health.
"If Jonathan were here, I don't think he'd want anybody going through this," Tittle said. "I think he'd say get that help. We as fellow humans, we have to reach out to our friends and let them know we're here for them."
Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish, read a letter from Brostoff's family that underscored just how dire access to firearms is for people in crisis. The letter referenced an op-ed Brostoff wrote for Urban Milwaukee in 2019, highlighting a startling excerpt:
"For people contemplating suicide, access to a firearm is like having your own personal, and permanent, 'delete' button," it read. "And let me tell you: having the power to use that delete button at your absolute lowest moment — when thoughts don't make sense and when calm, structured thinking is no longer part of the equation — is not something that anyone facing those types of struggles is equipped to handle."
The morning of Brostoff's death, he had purchased a firearm. His body was found at a park before noon, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner report.
"Our family believes that if he had been required to wait a day or two before purchasing a firearm last November to make that purchase, his life would have been spared," Brostoff's family letter read.
It's been years since Wisconsin has enacted or repealed gun safety policies, despite significant pressure from lawmakers like Brostoff. The state has failed to pass laws requiring background checks for all gun sales, and has yet to put extreme risk laws, also known as red flag laws, on the books, which would allow for quick intervention when a person is at serious risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm.
"One of the most effective things we can do as legislators to save lives and help people facing a mental health crisis is to temporarily restrict their access to firearms," State Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin, D-Whitefish Bay, told the Journal Sentinel. "Access to a gun during a crisis can be the difference between an irreversible tragedy and life."
State Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, a longtime friend of Brostoff, told the Journal Sentinel that he and his colleagues will continue to fight for stronger gun safety policies, but acknowledged that it's become a partisan issue.
"That one keeps hitting the wall on an ideological basis," Larson said.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told the Journal Sentinel in January that "taking firearms away from people who have not been convicted of a crime would be a non-starter," even in the wake of Brostoff's death.
"All of us feel bad about Jonathan Brostoff's death, but to somehow use it as a cheap political stunt to try to get legislation passed that we know is not going to happen really demeans Jonathan's memory and I think that's pretty sad," Vos said.
For State Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, the senate minority leader, the state has "a long way to go" on improving crisis resources for Wisconsinites.
"Democrats have put measures out every single session trying to help people in many different ways, especially those who are contemplating the final act of suicide," Hesselbein said. "We'll continue to do that."
988 Wisconsin Lifeline connects residents experiencing a crisis to a trained in-state or national counselor. Call or text 988, or chat through the Lifeline's website. For veteran support, call 988 and then press 1, or text 838255 or chat via the Veterans Crisis Line website. To be connected with LGBTQ+ supports, call 988, then press 3, or text the word "PRIDE" to 988.
Milwaukee Mobile Crisis provides non-police mobile responses to mental health crisis and intervention in people of all ages in the Milwaukee County community. Call 414-257-7222 for a mental health crisis, a mental health assessment, assistance with stabilization, or connections to ongoing resources.
Prevent Suicide Wisconsin connects residents to county crisis lines, which provide supports and assessments, link people to resources within the community, and, when needed, send mobile crisis response teams to provide in-person support.
The Center for Suicide Awareness allows residents to communicate by text only. Text 'Hopeline' to 741741 to be connected with a trained, in-state counselor for any issue.
211 Wisconsin is a free and confidential three-digit line that connects callers to local mental health programs and services. Call 211, text your ZIP code to 898211, chat now, or search the site for services.
Uplift Wisconsin, a peer-support service operated through Mental Health America of Wisconsin, connects Wisconsin residents with certified peer specialists, those with lived experiences mental health, substance use and other related life experiences between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Call Uplift Wisconsin at 534-202-5438.
LGTBQ youth can call 866-488-7386, text 'START' to 678678, or chat at to speak with a trained counselor for any issue.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: As lawmakers honor Brostoff, they revisit his call to limit gun access
