[troutman]

To reduce suicides, look at guns

Limiting gun access could cut the suicide rate by over a third
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graph...suicide-rates/

“If we had a shift in the number of people who attempt to end their life with a firearm — who chose other means — we would very greatly reduce our suicide rate,” according to Daniel Webster, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

And for those who did not die, it's likely they would not try to commit suicide again. A 2002 review of 90 studies indicates that more than 90 percent of people who survive a suicide attempt won’t die from a later suicide attempt either.

The wide availability of guns in America matters for suicide because guns are more lethal than any other suicide method. According to CDC data, which includes suicide attempts that were serious enough that the person ended up in the emergency room or dead, 90 percent of people who shoot themselves die, but only 4 percent of people who poison themselves die.

Experts contend if you reduce a suicidal person’s access to firearms, it’s likely to save his life, even if he attempts suicide with a different method.