Universal Background Checks for Guns Lowers Suicide Rate

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the suicide rate in the United States is now at a 30-year high. Another way to look at this is that every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide. Nearly two-thirds of the 32,000 gun deaths in the United States are suicides, according tothe latest data from theCenters for Disease Control. Firearm suicidesoutnumber firearm homicides nearly two to one.Indeed, far more Americans die by turning a gun on themselves than at the hands of others.In the United States, firearms, particularly handguns, are the most common means of suicide.About 85 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal, whereas only 2 percent of overdoses, the most widely used method in suicide attempts, end in death. Despite strong empirical evidence that gun control reduces suicides, access to firearms in the United States is generally subject to few restrictions. However, a current April 2017 study published in theAmerican Journal of Public Health is helping to kick nay-sayers for gun control to the curb - and save millions of lives. This long term study showed that handgun legislation yielded changes in statewide suicide rates. Specifically, data showed states with universal background checks had a decrease of 0.29 suicides per 100,000 people from 2013 to 2014 - nearly a 1/3 reduction in deaths by suicide using a firearm. Researchshows the longer it takes a suicidal person to obtain a weapon, the more likely that individual will decide...
Source: Dr. Deborah Serani - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: depression facts and figures mental health suicide trends violence Source Type: blogs