With few exceptions, states with the highest rates of gun ownership -- for example, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alabama, and West Virginia -- also tended to have the highest suicide rates. These states were also carried overwhelmingly by George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.
Leaving aside the idea of voting for George Bush and the desire to commit suicide aside for right now, I think the study certainly makes sense in that people who have more access to guns usually choose THAT as their method for ending it all.
And as the study also points out; "Many studies show that of all suicide methods, firearms have the highest case fatality, implying that an individual who selects this technique has a very low chance of survival."
I can say one thing for sure, I live in Alaska, and we have tons of conservatives. as well as easy access to guns. and our suicide rate is the highest in the nation.
The study goes on to say; "Even modest efforts to reform gun laws are typically met with vehement opposition. There are also millions of Americans who continue to believe that keeping a gun at home protects them against intruders, even though research shows that when a gun is used in the home, it is often against household members in the commission of homicides or suicides,"
Yeah I am guessing this study is not going to be embraced by the Right Wing anytime soon. Still it DOES provide a little more ammunition, if you will pardon the pun, for those looking to restrict access to guns in this country.
H/T to Mediaite.
It's interesting that the rate of suicide seems to be higher where there is less population density. It is probably a good thing for people to come into contact with other people on a regular basis. Those wide, open spaces may be appealing but not always a good idea.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
Suicide in Alaska is highest in the bush communities where there is little hope and great poverty. There simply is no reason for some of these folks to go on, given the hopelessness of life in some of these villages. Either they get job training and get out, or alcohol consumes them and they find death a better alternative than a cold, and weary dead end.
ReplyDeleteTo put some Buddhist terminology to this, guns are vehicles of harm and non-virtue, so it is best to have as little to do with them as possible.
ReplyDeleteI am all in favor of some reasonable gun laws in this country, but in your zeal please do not grandstand on the backs of victims of one of Alaska's greatest tragedies - suicide in rural Native communities.
ReplyDeleteRural Native people NEED guns. Guns are ESSENTIAL to rural Native life. More than half of what I have eaten this past week was put on the table with a gun and many of those suicides you exploit are friends and dear ones. The reasons for these suicides are complex, not so simple as anonymous @ 1:57 believes, but I will leave it here.
Thank you for saying what needs to be said, over and over and over again: the reasons for suicide are complex. A gun is but one way of many ways of committing suicide, not the cause. To imply that reducing the number of guns will decrease the number of suicides is simplistic. Reducing the number of guns will only make suicide more difficult, more messy, and more painful. But the person determined to be free of his pain and despair will still find a way. The level of ignorance concerning the causes of suicide is staggering.
DeleteShop that sold Newtown massacre guns had its license revoked
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/05/shop-that-sold-newtown-massacre-guns-had-its-license-revoked/
A Homicide Detective Was Shot Dead In A Police Interrogation Room
ReplyDeleteRead more: http://www.businessinsider.com/detective-killed-in-interrogation-room-2013-4#ixzz2PdSMVbiF
O/T but this will be something if/when it happens!
ReplyDeleteAn NFL Linebacker Says Four Gay Players Are Considering Coming Out Together On The Same Day
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/four-nfl-players-are-going-to-come-out-together-2013-4#ixzz2PdToGzKV
"Many studies show that of all suicide methods, firearms have the highest case fatality, implying that an individual who selects this technique has a very low chance of survival."
ReplyDeleteMake absolute sense.