Two Montana mothers bound by unimaginable loss are turning their grief into action, hoping to save lives and spare other families from the heartbreak they have endured.
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Tracie Meshal's daughter Railyn was funny, creative, and full of life.
"She was such a joy. I miss her, I miss her laugh. She was so funny," Tracie said.
Railyn died by suicide at just 13 years old after struggling with mental health challenges for several years, including depression, anxiety, ADHD, executive functioning delays, and Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. At the time of her death, Railyn had access to a firearm that was not securely locked.
Tracie remembers the moment she got the call.
"Please tell me my baby's okay. And he said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am, she's deceased,'" she said.
Tracie is not alone. Jill Stokes lost her son Curtis in 2025. He was 25 years old.
"Curtis was the light of the room. The best sense of humor and hundreds of friends. Nobody ever would have thought he was suicidal," Jill said.
Montana recorded 325 suicide deaths in 2025, according to the Montana Behavioral Health Crisis Dashboard. Tracie and Jill say behind every one of those numbers is a family — and a story that didn't have to end that way.
"We have to reduce the stigma of mental health," Jill said.
Together, the two mothers are channeling their loss into action. They are working to advance a potential piece of legislation they hope to call Railyn's Law — which would require firearms to be securely locked and inaccessible when a child is known to be at risk of self-harm.
"If this law saves even one child and one mother and you go through getting that phone call," Tracie said.
For Tracie, the message to gun owners is simple.
"You can't take away our guns. No, that's not what we want. It's not what we want at all. All we're saying is lock them away," she said.
For Jill, the fight goes beyond firearm storage. She says the stigma surrounding mental health has to change too.
"We need it to be okay for people to ask for help and not tell them to toughen up, or they're looking for attention. It is okay not to be okay," she said.
Railyn was funny, creative, and artistic. She loved animals, loved making people laugh, and dreamed of becoming an X-ray technician. She was 13 years old.
Her mother will not stop fighting for her.
