|
|
|
| Authored by: PJ on Friday, December 28 2012 @ 01:50 AM EST |
And you were discussing suicide, and here are some
points on that from the same
brief:
The availability of firearms, especially handguns, is a major
driver of suicide rates. Where there are more handguns, more people successfully
commit suicide. Multiple studies have confirmed that “gun ownership, rather than
the strictness of gun control laws, [is] . . . the strongest correlate of the
rates of suicide and homicide by guns.” 50 Handgun ownership in particular
plainly affects suicide rates. A six-year study of almost a quarter-million
California residents, for example, showed that the suicide rate during the first
week after the purchase of a handgun was 57 times higher than for the
population as a whole. 51 While suicide rates decreased after this initial
spike, even five years later the suicide rate among handgun owners remained
double that of the rest of the population.52
The availability of handguns
also increases the likelihood that a suicide attempt will succeed. The
overwhelming majority of those who attempt suicide fail. Not surprisingly, the
presence and availability of a handgun all but guarantees that a suicide attempt
will end in a fatality.53 [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: myNym on Friday, December 28 2012 @ 02:06 AM EST |
| Take anything they say with large doses of salt. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
|
|
|
|
|
