Suicide with a gun twice as likely as homicide — about 50 people per day

[SecularMotion]

LAS VEGAS — Americans are twice as likely to die from turning guns on themselves as they are to be murdered with one.

A national News21 analysis of 2012 data found 18,602 firearm suicides in 44 states compared with about 9,655 firearm homicides in 49 states. That means at least 50 people died per day from firearm suicide; 26 died from firearm homicides.

Gun shops and ranges in areas with high rates of suicide are teaming up with prevention specialists to prevent firearm suicides. Range employees are learning the warning signs of suicide to stop mentally unstable people from getting their hands on guns.

News21 contacted all 50 states seeking suicide data for 2012, the most recent year available, but Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island denied requests for statistics or could not be reached. The FBI received limited homicide data from Illinois and Alabama and none from Florida.

http://ctmirror.org/suicide-with-a-gun-twice-as-likely-as-homicide-about-50-people-per-day/

[etherealtruth]

1. Tragic

[Rex]

2. And out of that 50, 20 or so are veterans.

Yes that's right, 20 prior military take their own lives per DAY.

[dilby]

3. If I were to do it, would rather it be with a gun than asphyxiation. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

4. Guns make it so much easier, no time to reflect.....it is another example of the tragedy and

sickness of a nation addicted to fear and guns.

Each day American use more bullets to kill themselves than British police fire in a decade.

[friendly_iconoclast]

7. Japan has a far higher suicide rate, and very few guns

It seems you're more worried about the method than the actual suicides...

[Fred Sanders]

9. There are many reasons for Japan's suicide rate, not the least the cultural acceptance of it....why

make it easier in cultures that abhor it?

[friendly_iconoclast]

10. It's not a cultural decision, it's a personal one

I'm suspicious of 'cultural' claims, they remind me of those claiming that their
country is "a Christian/Islamic/Jewish/(insert religion of choice) nation"

I'd also remind you that being openly gay used to be almost universally
abhorrent in American culture...

[dsc]

13. but culture can make lying about it more necessary

many suicides in this country are ruled accidental to protect the family, just like many gay people lived in the closet. Our true suicide rate may well make us well above middle of the pack.

[friendly_iconoclast]

15. "Our true suicide rate may well make us well above middle of the pack."

Interesting question- do you have any evidence at hand of this?

[dsc]

17. honestly no

but given that medically assisted suicide is still illegal here but legal in places like the Netherlands it makes sense that we would have more people covering up suicide than many other countries do.

[Fred Sanders]

18. You make a great point, suicide is openly reported in Japan, hidden in America....but you can not

prove a negative, as in the unreported crime rate, you know it exists, anyone asking you to prove it or provide evidence is being obtuse.

[friendly_iconoclast]

19. 99.9%+ of suicides in Japan don't involve guns

The deceased are no less dead, however- so what's your point?

[Fred Sanders]

20. They do not involve guns because they have few. Why they have higher rates of suicide is unrelated.

[friendly_iconoclast]

23. Nonetheless, they are still dead- guns don't actually make you deader...

...nor are the survivors any more traumatized

[ManiacJoe]

5. This should not surprise anyone who knows about guns.

Handguns are the most common firearm used in crimes and in suicides. Death by a handgun is relative to shot placement. Suicides are done with shots directly to the head or heart. Criminal shootings are much less likely to be that accurate, thus they don't usually kill the victim.

For preventing suicides, secured storage is the key to keeping the non-owners of the guns from unauthorized access.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Guns are just tools. Think of all the suicides by pliers, screwdrivers, vises, and trowels.

Never mind.

[friendly_iconoclast]

8. What difference does the method make?

[Logical]

11. So it is your claim the USA would have the same rate with no guns? nt

[friendly_iconoclast]

12. Japan has a far higher suicide rate and very few guns

The US ranks about the middle of OECD countries in terms of suicide
rates (#18 of 34)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OECD_countries_by_suicide_rate

[Logical]

21. Did not answer question. Nt

[friendly_iconoclast]

22. I make no claim as to whether the US rate would rise or fall

I'd point out that suicide via gun is usually less drawn out and agonizing than
swallowing pesticides (often used in Asia, but known to occur elsewhere:

http://www.suicidemethods.net/suicide-methods/

Internationally, the consumption of pesticides and weed killers accounts for over 30% of suicides. This makes it one of the most common suicide methods of all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Blow#Death

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/6/902.full

Suicide by intentional ingestion of pesticides: a continuing tragedy in developing countries

...In developing countries the situation is quite different.6 The substances most commonly used for self-poisoning are agricultural pesticides.6–,11 Overall case fatality ranges from 10% to 20%.12 For this reason, deaths from pesticide poisoning make a major contribution to patterns of suicide in developing nations, particularly in rural areas.6 In rural China, for example, pesticides account for over 60% of suicides.8 Similarly high proportions of suicides are due to pesticides in rural areas of Sri Lanka (71%),13 Trinidad (68%),14 and Malaysia (>90%).

...and potentially less harmful to others than carbon monoxide poisoning:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning#Suicide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Delp#Death

http://msl.sagepub.com/content/49/4/301

Suicide by burning barbecue charcoal

[Recursion]

14. Been that way for quite a while. It's why I have trouble taking gun control efforts seriously

If you're not talking about
1) handguns, and
2) suicide

you're not addressing the major gun problem.

[friendly_iconoclast]

16. Would that be the suicides, the handguns or the combination thereof?

[Recursion]

24. Both

Our attempts at gun control for 20 years have been based on assault weapons laws, which affect what a class of rifles that kill an infinitesimal fraction of gun deaths can look like (not how they operate). Basically all gun suicides (which are two thirds of gun deaths) are with handguns, and about 90% of gun homicides are with handguns. But we're leading a charge about what shape a rifle's grip can have.