More than half of gun-related deaths in the U.S. are suicides

[Hermit For Peace]

Mass shootings may garner the most attention, but suicides account for most gun deaths in America. Catherine Barber, a researcher at Harvard Injury Control Research Center, says once people recognize suicide as the most common form of gun violence, they're better positioned to protect against the risk: they can check for warning signs and remove the means for impulsive actions.

Studies of those who attempt suicide and survive indicate the decision to take one's own life doesn't always involve lengthy planning. One study of participants who survived an attempt found that half of them considered it for less then 10 minutes. Barber stresses that such attempts are often preceded by long battles with depression or another mental health concern. She wants to remove the ability of people who have been struggling long-term to act on a short-term feeling.

Russell rejects the argument that guns aren't a major contributor to suicide. "There's very little turning back when you use a gun." He believes that working toward safer gun policies will help avert similar tragedies. "Guns make temporary problems terminal."

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/28/1172478320/one-way-to-prevent-suicides-limit-access-to-guns

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

This isn’t new

[Joe Republic]

As much as I obviously detest guns and gun ownership, adding more restrictions wouldn't do a great deal to help reduce suicide rates.

South Korea has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world, but the majority of methods used are poisoning (by pesticides or carbon monoxide), hanging, or jumping off high buildings or bridges.

[Hammy]

Using suicide statistics to argue for gun restrictions greatly weakens the entire argument and feeds into the notion that these laws are to 'protect you from yourself' rather than addressing a public safety issue

[HillGoose]

does anyone really expect that not to be the case when this world just gets worse and worse every day ?

[Hermit For Peace]

This isn’t new

It's new for some of us. And it's probably a good idea to keep reminding us of this fact. And what can we do about it.... It's obviously a problem that needs addressing.

[the artist formerly known as catmusic]

All the more reason to have a more rigorous vetting process when getting a gun. I'm generally softly pro-gun but I do think it's in the best interest of everyone to prevent people from obtaining guns for this reason. Needless deaths.

[Meclazine for Israel]

The gun deaths in the USA in the first third of the year are as follows:


https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

These data include deaths from 'other people' and 'suicide'. As of April 28. 2023, yearly stats reveal:

Gun Death by Suicide: 7,788 (57.1%)
Homicide/Murder/Accident: 5,847 (42.9%)

Other anomalies include:

1. Wyoming has two gun deaths for the entire year;
2. Eastern half of the USA has much more gun violence resulting in death;
3. The gun violence in Washington State and Oregon forms a linear correlation with subsurface magmatic activity of the Cascadian Volcanic Arc.


Volcanic centres associated with the Cascadian Arc.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

You've nearly just posted a population map.

Maybe South Carolina's number of incidents appears high, but no conclusions can be drawn from that.

[Benjamin Frank]

Guns are the American MAiD

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

I found out that you can survive the initial bullet and becime permanently blind when you commit such a silly act

There is no definite way unless GOD calls you home, unless you are killed by someone else or you get your head chopped off or the state lethal injection that's how you will be called home

HIV and CANCER doesn't kill you initially it hides in your immune system and slowly kills T Cells but Chemo and Meds can kill the mutation

[7,052,770]

As much as I obviously detest guns and gun ownership, adding more restrictions wouldn't do a great deal to help reduce suicide rates.

I don't know, research suggests that removing a quick and easy means to commit suicide does reduce the suicide rate. Fot example, people have scoffed suicide nets on bridges because people would just find another method, but that does not appear to be the case. Also, when England changed its gas system so that it wasn't super easy, fast and painless to kill yourself by sticking your head in an oven, the suicide rate dropped noticeably rather than shifting to more difficult methods. Freakonomics (I think it was the podcast) did a really interesting dive into these numbers.

[Hermit For Peace]

Just a comment, the fact that death by suicide has such high numbers is as astounding to me as the fact that there are more guns than people in our country. Both facts are mind-blowing, and yet we allow the situations to continue. I guess we gotta have our guns.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Other anomalies include:

1. Wyoming has two gun deaths for the entire year;

Anomaly: nobody dies in a state where nobody lives

[It’s so Joever]

You've nearly just posted a population map.

Maybe South Carolina's number of incidents appears high, but no conclusions can be drawn from that.

I am assuming he is memeing, I hope he is memeing.

[HillGoose]

3. The gun violence in Washington State and Oregon forms a linear correlation with subsurface magmatic activity of the Cascadian Volcanic Arc.

future headline: "govt declares war on volcanoes to reduce gun violence"

[Joe Republic]

As much as I obviously detest guns and gun ownership, adding more restrictions wouldn't do a great deal to help reduce suicide rates.

I don't know, research suggests that removing a quick and easy means to commit suicide does reduce the suicide rate. Fot example, people have scoffed suicide nets on bridges because people would just find another method, but that does not appear to be the case. Also, when England changed its gas system so that it wasn't super easy, fast and painless to kill yourself by sticking your head in an oven, the suicide rate dropped noticeably rather than shifting to more difficult methods. Freakonomics (I think it was the podcast) did a really interesting dive into these numbers.

I do get that, and I'm on record as arguing that a home with no gun in it is safer all round than one with.  However, in my own home (which obviously has no guns in it) I can count about five alternative quick and easy suicide methods, were I so inclined.  I'm sure there are more if I wanted to get creative.

The argument from the pro-gun crowd that "take away guns and the criminals will just find other weapons to kill the same number of people" has never really held much water, but when discussing suicide rates and methods, in this case it rather does.