The Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens' ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.
Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was nothing unique about that year -- gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years.
Goodness. I had no idea that was the case. How very disturbing.
This just lets you know that guns don't kill people, people kill people using guns and with the availability it makes it easier to kill another person plus get killed by a family member or in some cases "suicide". Guns make for a quick death sentence or a quick lifelong maiming....There is no reason for this in a society that should be the best for all Americans.
ReplyDeleteAustrailia thought to reduce suicide rates by banning the sale of handguns. In the following year, suicide by handguns dropped drastically.
ReplyDeleteHowever, suicide by other methods specifically hanging, rose dramatically during that same time.
Overall, suicide rates in Austrailia (at that time) remained the same.
If someone is determined to commit suicide, they will. Wether by gun, bomb, car, gravity, or rope.
Japan, which has practically no civilian firearm ownership, has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Almost double the U.S. rate.
ReplyDeleteAs much as some would like to dictate to others, as a tyrant would to his subjects, we simply don't run the country according to certain likes or dislikes. The U.S. Constitution is our guide, to not only our rights, but to the limitations of the powers of government. We have the right to own firearms in the U.S., and the government is NOT empowered to arbitrarily suspend that right, except for felons and the insane. Period.
A gun is the best self defense, period. People are going to kill themselves & each other, at least they wo't get me. Defend Thyself & quit coddling criminals.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Winkler
http://defendthyself.com