Why Aren't We Doing Anything About Gun Suicides?

Both sides in the gun debate have it wrong. One camp views guns primarily as a means of self-defense and the other camp understands guns as primarily being an instrument of murder. In reality, at least in terms of their use against humans, guns are primarily a means to commit suicide. Self-defense only makes up 1 percent of intentional, fatal shootings. Murders constitute 29 percent and suicides represent 70 percent of intentional gun killings in the United States. 21,175 people died by committing suicide with a firearm in the United States in 2013. Yet a discussion of suicide is almost entirely absent from the gun policy debate. Obvious policy fixes that could save a large number of lives are simply ignored because of this lack of public attention.

The relationship between guns and suicide rates is well-established. 84 percent of scientists studying related areas believe that having a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide. Understanding the connection requires some background information regarding suicide. Many people who attempt suicide rethink their decision and apply pressure to the wound, vomit up the pills or call for help. Many others simply survive the attempt and then decide that they want to live. Two-thirds of people who attempt suicide choose drugs as the means. Of those, only 2 percent die from the attempt. Attempting suicide by cutting oneself is the second most common choice of means and is only fatal 1 percent of the time. On the other hand, 85 percent of all suicide attempts using a firearm are fatal. Suicide attempts using a firearm make up less than 6 percent of all suicide attempts, but 55 percent of all suicide fatalities. With a gun, there is no time for rethinking. There is no chance that loved ones will find the person in time. A momentary impulse can be all it takes to make a very final decision.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-salminen/why-arent-we-doing-anything-about-gun-suicides_b_8113718.html