What this study shows is that a gun is likely the first choice of gun owners who are trying to kill themselves. It cannot determine how much less likely they would have been to kill themselves had they not owned a gun, if at all.
I wonder how many people choose other methods of suicide (Hanging/Drug OD) when they had a gun available.
When I was a medic for 15 years, I was paged out to 4 suicides, two self hanging, one OD, and one wrist slashing, (all male). Nor can I remember any reports of suicide by gun either. There were also good number of attempted OD's though. And this was in a rural community where almost every home had at least one gun and often more.
I don't think anyone could prove one way or another why guns didn't seem to be a choice for suicidal people in that community. I certainly don't know. But people who are not of sound mind often do strange things for inscrutable reasons.
They're kind of notorious for people surviving the attempt, with stories of shattered jaws and a life of brain damage afterwards.
There, at the very least some truth to that. I did run across one failed attempt with a gun that fit that bill.
I wonder how many people choose other methods of suicide (Hanging/Drug OD) when they had a gun available.
When I was a medic for 15 years, I was paged out to 4 suicides, two self hanging, one OD, and one wrist slashing, (all male). Nor can I remember any reports of suicide by gun either. There were also good number of attempted OD's though. And this was in a rural community where almost every home had at least one gun and often more.
I don't think anyone could prove one way or another why guns didn't seem to be a choice for suicidal people in that community. I certainly don't know. But people who are not of sound mind often do strange things for inscrutable reasons.
They're kind of notorious for people surviving the attempt, with stories of shattered jaws and a life of brain damage afterwards.
There, at the very least some truth to that. I did run across one failed attempt with a gun that fit that bill.