Friday, March 16, 2012

Why Banning Guns Doesn't Make Much Difference in Suicide Rates

Washington D.C.'s 1976 freeze on handguns made no statistically significant difference on total suicide rates (although it did cause a move from firearm suicides to non-firearm suicides).  And here is a tragic reminder of why.  From March 15, 2012 CBS Los Angeles:

PALMS (CBS) — A Westside woman was found dead on Thursday after she apparently killed herself by using a chainsaw, police said.
KNX 1070′s John Brooks reports the gruesome death was discovered early Thursday morning by the victim’s sister.

2 comments:

  1. I'm going through a dark time in my life right now; sometimes I feel completely useless, and burned out. The idea of crawling into an obscure place in the building I work at and just "ending it" has crossed my mind once or twice; and it's a little scary to realise that I carry an instrument that can be used to these ends: a Swiss Army knife. Actually, I carry two, because I have a tiny one with my keys, and even a tiny knife is enough to use for such ends.

    Really, if you decide to end things, there isn't much others can do to stop things!

    Indeed, the two things that keep me going from day to day is, first, I cannot bear to bring the sadness to my family, that I felt (and still feel) when my father died from an accident over a year ago. I love them too much, and I love being with them, too.

    And second, keeping the phrase "This too shall pass" in my mind. While I may feel miserable right now, I know there are better days ahead, and I want to be around to see them!

    Well, ok, perhaps not so much at a governmental level, but then, if government goes all to pot, I want to do all I can to help my family through it, and to help re-establish a government that would actually recognise our freedoms as well, for myself and my children.

    In any case, it's not being banned from guns that's keeping me alive (I'm not banned from guns, and I currently don't carry, either), but a will to live, even when I feel I'm in my darkest hour at this time.

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  2. If the dark time in your life started with your father's death, then this is a situational depression that is likely to be correctable. While antidepressants won't be anything but a crutch if your depression is genetic, they can be a useful assist in getting up and out of the valley of despair if the depression is situational. It's time to seek help from a psychiatrist, psychologist, or even your family physician.

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