A very permanent solution to a temporary problem. [View all]

Whenever the number of deaths by guns (30,000 a year) is discussed the first response from the second amenders is,”More than half are suicides,” as if those deaths don't matter. The second comment on gun suicide is,”They'll just use another method if guns are taken away.”

Both statements are bullshit of the highest order.

I have some personal experience with attempted suicide. One case was an acquaintance who shot herself with her father's pistol. She survived thanks to her dad's first aid experience. Her life is still in the toilet but after five years she hasn't made another attempt. A former son in law attempted suicide with over the counter drugs. Damn near did it, he was as close as the gunshot wound but recovered and is now happily married to his second wife and enjoying his second chance at living. Only 20% , one in five, of unsuccessful suicide attempts are repeated.

PTSD and guns is a lethal combination. The number of suicides by active duty military and veterans is increasing every year. From 2001 to 2014 the number increased from 10/100,000 to 18/100,000. Today that number is about 22 veterans a day. Sixty percent of successful suicides are by gun. Attempts of suicide by gun are almost never unsuccessful. Guns are extremely good at ending life. Support the troops much?

Gunners typically give lip service to mental health but seem oblivious to a gun's contribution to that very permanent solution to a temporary situation. The NRA is schizophrenic on the subject of mental health. On one hand they want to blame gun violence on the mentally ill but on the other they want to make sure people under mental health care can buy all the guns they want. Heaven forbid the family or friends of at risk individuals be able to remove guns from those people. They are in favor of gag laws to prevent health care professionals from even asking about guns in the home though. Big on the 2nd amendment but not so much on the first.

We need to involve doctors, psychologists and the general public in suicide prevention. As a medicare patient my doctor is required to query me on my mental state annually, asking about depression and self image but not about guns. Should a doctor discover a depressed patient doesn't it make sense to ask about guns in the house? We need PSAs to make people aware of the need for intervention in cases of PTSD and depression. We need to be able to remove as many methods of self harm from these cases as possible. That includes guns.