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AgoraCosmopolitan Dating

Gun deaths  

redmustang91 64M
7764 posts
3/25/2021 4:50 am

Last Read:
5/6/2021 3:38 pm

Gun deaths


The big problem with guns is not mass homicides, it is suicide.

When Americans think about deaths from guns, we tend focus homicides. But the problem of gun suicide is inescapable: More than 60 percent of people in this country who die from guns die by suicide.

Suicide gets a lot less attention than murders for a few reasons. One big one is that news organizations generally don’t cover suicides the way they do murders. There’s evidence that news attention around suicide can lead more suicides. Suicide is more stigmatized and less discussed than homicide.

But, as a matter of public health, gun suicides are a huge problem in the United States. Suicide is the second-most common cause of death for Americans between 18 and 34, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Across all ages, it is the tenth-most common cause of death, and caused 1.6 percent of deaths in 20.

Not of those suicides are by gun, but a majority are. And while some people feeling suicidal impulses will choose another method if a gun is not at hand, public health researchers cite two reasons guns are particularly dangerous: 1) Guns are more lethal than most other methods people try, so someone who attempts suicide another way is more likely survive; 2) Studies suggest that suicide attempts often occur shortly after people decide themselves, so people with deadly means hand when the impulse strikes are more likely use them than those who have wait or plan.

That means that strategies that make suicide more inconvenient or difficult can save lives. Guns, when they are in the home, can make self-harm both easy and deadly.

There are a few classic studies that show these factors. One is historical: In England in the first half of the 20th century, many people died after intentionally inhaling lethal fumes in coal ovens. When oven technology changed to less dangerous natural , fewer people had an easy means of suicide in their home. some people found another suicide method, and the suicides fell substantially.

Another occurred in Israel, where<b> members </font></b>of the military had a suicide . In 2006, the army stopped letting soldiers take their weapons home on weekends. The suicide rate fell there, too, by 40 percent.

Many of the gun-control measures that politicians propose to reduce the of homicides and mass shootings would have a limited effect on gun suicides. Efforts to ban so-called assault weapons or to reduce the of bullets that could be loaded into a gun at once would probably not make suicide any less likely. But other measures meant to prevent gun homicides might have an effect on gun suicides, particularly those designed to identify and help people with mental health needs. Mental illness, which may contribute to mass shootings, is a clear risk factor for suicide.

The moral of the story is clear: The gun you for protection may you in a moment of depression. Fewer guns mean fewer people get shot, injured or die.

redmustang91 64M
9760 posts
3/25/2021 4:52 am

Think of a gun as a pet cobra. Exciting and exotic and may kill you or a loved one. Was it worth it to have this deadly pet around? The life you save may be your own if you ditch the gun.


patchdriver 68M/68F  
156 posts
3/25/2021 5:27 am

In 1994, Canada enacted a new gun law with the intention of reducing suicide by gun. The law required anyone owning or purchasing a gun must have taken the Firearms Safety Course. Another stipulation was that the guns and ammunition must be locked up in separate locations. Just the short amount of time and the hassle of retrieving both might be enough time that maybe shooting himself him was not the solution. Since then suicide by gun have dropped dramatically.


lindoboy100 61M
23969 posts
3/25/2021 7:54 am

I used to have some really interesting discussions with a couple of american friends here about gun ownership and control. One was a young lady, the other a gent just a few years older than me, both very different backgrounds, yet both fiercely defendant of their 2nd amendment rights to own and bear arms.

My take on it, as a Brit, is simply this:- why? Just because you can doesn't seem to me to be a plausible reason. Yes, I understand that the fear culture prevalent in the US can give rise to the need to arm oneself, but why not then tackle the fear culture? Ultimately, it seems to me, it is the owners of the large gun-manufacturing corporations who are the only people to gain from this. Looking from the outside in, it does appear to represent some sort of systemic, societal insanity.

I read an interesting article recently on suicide attempts which compared the success rates of various methods. Not surprisingly, the rate in attempts involving guns was significantly higher than any other method. Horrifyingly, in the small number of cases in which the person survived, lasting brain damage often led to paraplegic and vegetative conditions.

The same article also considered the rate of attempts which were true efforts to end life compared to suicide attempts which were more of a cry for help. Again, disturbingly, the proportion of true attempts is relatively small. Yet those attempts by gun constitutes a very high success rate.

For me, it seems that the right to take one's own life, in the right circumstances, is far more important than the right to bear arms.

Interesting discussion McMust, I see your post has already generated some responses.


eyes_666 60M

3/25/2021 8:05 am

    Quoting patchdriver:
    In 1994, Canada enacted a new gun law with the intention of reducing suicide by gun. The law required anyone owning or purchasing a gun must have taken the Firearms Safety Course. Another stipulation was that the guns and ammunition must be locked up in separate locations. Just the short amount of time and the hassle of retrieving both might be enough time that maybe shooting himself him was not the solution. Since then suicide by gun have dropped dramatically.
Actually the ammunition does not have to be locked in a separate location. It can and mostly is stored in the same locked gun safe with the weapons but obviously not loaded and yes the intent is to create a small window of time for "sober second thought" before using a deadly weapon on either yourself or others around you.


lyavu 50F
1538 posts
3/26/2021 1:57 am

Open carry leads to open shooting . Alot of angry people in the world .


redmustang91 64M
9760 posts
3/26/2021 1:45 pm

My point is life is better than death. Choose life and ditch the guns. The life you save may be your own or someone you value.


redmustang91 64M
9760 posts
3/27/2021 5:12 am

Some people think they will win the shoot out and stop a robbery. Usually that does not happen. More often they kill themselves in a fit of depression, or by accident shoot someone, or a kid plays with the gun and some loved one is killed or injured.


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