Gun Control: Suicide and Firearms

Every year, approximately 22,000 Americans kill themselves using firearms, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to 2017 data, suicide is the second leading cause of death in New Hampshire for those between the ages of 10 and 34. [...]the overall suicide rate is increasing for all ages and, more specifically, firearms are increasingly becoming the chosen method of suicide for males of all ages. Recognize and understand the efforts of gun safety and gun violence prevention organizations, such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and Everytown for Gun Safety.

Sixty-three people die by suicide with a gun every day, states a report by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Washington, D.C.

Americans are more than twice as likely to die by their own hands, of their own will, than by someone else's. But while homicides spark vigils and protests, entering into headlines, presidential speeches and police budgets, suicides don't.

Suicides comprise at least 2/3 of all gun fatalities.

People who die from suicide are likelier to live in homes with guns than people who merely attempted suicide, and states with higher rates of gun ownership have higher rates of gun suicide.

Stories about suicide in different populations and situations as well as information about treatment and prevention.

Suicides are a major public health problem in the United States, and there is a strong association between the availability of firearms and the rate of suicide. Every year in the United States, there are more suicides than homicides, and more gun suicides than gun homicides. Guns are the method of choice in U.S. suicides; indeed, more people kill themselves with guns than with all other methods combined. From 1988 to 2007, over 350,000 Americans have committed suicide with a firearm. White males are at especially high risk for suicide and for gun suicide in particular. From 2003 to 2007, guns have accounted for 57 percent of male suicides and over 30 percent of female suicides. Firearms are one of the most lethal methods of suicide.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.

An estimated one million people commit suicide every year worldwide. Suicide is a leading cause of death among teenagers and people older than 35. Recent research into the cause of suicide seems to indicate that feelings of hopelessness are more of a predictor of suicidal behavior than depression.