The Impact of Guns on Suicide
The Impact of Guns on Suicide
2. Does suicide matter?
[i]
[i] Shaw, K. (2016, September 6). The Trace, 10 Essential Facts About
Guns and Suicide. Retrieved from https://www.thetrace.org/2016/09/10-essential-facts-guns-suicide/
The
following chart based on data taken from 1989 – 1997 compares the fatality
rates of the most common suicide methods and again demonstrates the
effectiveness of firearms as a means of suicide.
[ii]
[ii] Harvard T.H. Chan. Lethality of Suicide Methods Case Fatality Rates
by Suicide Method, 8 U.S. States, 1989-1997. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/case-fatality/
The reason why guns are the most effective method for committing suicide is that there is just no alternative suicide method that is as easy, quick, cannot be retracted and generally lethal. Overdosing on pills which is the most common attempted suicide method fits the easy measure but is rarely lethal and can be retracted e.g. by vomiting or calling for an ambulance. Hanging which is a common suicide method in many countries is generally lethal, but not easy to set up and a painfully slow method that is less likely to be done on impulse compared to pulling a trigger.
Given that guns facilitate suicide one would expect those states with higher gun ownership to have higher suicide rates, which is indeed the case. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) surveys taken from 2001- 2004 found that the three states with the highest percentage of household gun ownership - Wyoming, Montana and Alaska had suicide rates of around 20 people per 100,000, nearly double the national average of about 11 per 100,000. Conversely, the nine states with the lowest per-household gun ownership from 2001 to 2004 also had the nine lowest suicide rates. They were Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, California, Illinois, and Maryland.[iii]
[iii] Signer, M. (2016, April 28). States with "the highest gun
ownership rates also have the highest suicide rates.". Retrieved from https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/apr/11/myra-signer/myra-signer-says-state-highest-gun-ownership-rates/
In 2016 The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence produced a report titled “The Truth About Suicide and Guns”[iv] This report demonstrates the link between suicide and guns in America. Within this report, there is a reference to 5 US case studies that found conclusive evidence that firearms in the home are associated with significantly higher rates of suicides and references to analysis combining the result of 14 national and international studies, which concluded that access to firearms increased the risk of suicide more than 3 times.[v]
[iv] Brady Guns Suicide Report 2016 – The Truth About Suicide and Guns.
Retrieved from http://www.bradycampaign.org/sites/default/files/Brady-Guns-Suicide-Report-2016.pdf
[v] Anglemyer, A., Horvath, T., & Rutherford, G. (2014, January
21). The accessibility of firearms and risk for suicide and homicide
victimization among household members: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24592495/
Individuals
and organizations that support gun-rights and easy access to guns in the United
States are generally dismissive about suicides. For example, if informed that
there were 39,740 firearm deaths in 2018 they would swiftly respond along these lines. Most of these are suicides and so
should not be counted since the individual shooting themselves chose to end
their lives. This logic not only fails to consider the impact that the suicide
may have on close relatives and friends, but it also fails to consider that a
depressed individual on the verge of wanting to kill themselves is probably not
of sufficiently sound mind, to make the most important decision in their life,
as to whether to commit suicide or not.
Suicide is a tragedy to the individual their family and friends and anyone who
may feel remorse for not having taken action or seen the warning signs to
prevent the suicide. Of particular concern with firearm, suicides are that these
are frequently sudden impulsive decisions and if the gun had not been available
it is likely that no suicide attempt would have been made. Even if the
individual did then attempt an alternative suicide method such as drug overdose
the method would probably fail and additionally, the individual would have time
to reflect and seek help from others to prevent the suicide.
A common misconception surrounding failed suicides is that the individual who tried to kill themselves will keep trying to end their life until successful. Thus, the fact that firearm suicides are generally successful is irrelevant because eventually, they would have killed themselves even without access to firearms. Extensive research on this subject however shows that this is not the case. Only between 5-11% of people who unsuccessfully tried to kill themselves will eventually succeed in killing themselves, [vi] which means the vast majority do not end up committing suicide. The reason for this is that suicide is usually an impulsive decision and a moment’s reflection or heart to heart chat with a close friend or relative can encourage alternatives such as seeking counseling to prevent the urge to kill oneself from resurfacing.
Finally, can you imagine how awful a parent would feel if they discovered that their son or daughter had found a loaded gun at home and used it to kill themselves? The whole family would be devastated. Suicides do matter and they do not just impact the individual choosing to end their own life.
[vi] Shaw, K. (2016,
September 6). 10 Essential Facts About Guns and Suicide More than two-thirds of
all gun deaths are self-inflicted. Retrieved from https://www.thetrace.org/2016/09/10-essential-facts-guns-suicide/
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