The gun confisication extremists are again counting suicides in the incredible gun death toll to scare people, arguing that without guns, the 2/3 of gun deaths that are suicides would not happen, because guns are so much more certain. From Gary Kleck's book Point Blank table 6.2 is a list of suicide methods and how often they are fatal:
| method |
fatality % |
| shooting |
84.7 |
| hanging |
80.0 |
| CO exhaust |
77.0 |
| drowning |
75.0 |
| jumping/impact |
42.3 |
| poisoning |
14.5 |
| non-CO gases |
13.4 |
| drugs |
11.8 |
| cutting/stabbing |
4.9 |
As you can see ropes are readily available as is car exhaust.
People who decide to do it won't be deterred easily. A friend of mine investigated the suicide of an old man. The old boy had tried to shoot himself with a .22 rifle, but the action was dirty and he had a light strike, which was still on his workbench. He cleaned the rifle and succeeded on the next try.
ReplyDeleteAnother acquaintance told me of a suicide where the victim tied his rope to a doorknob, climbed on a stepstool on the other side of the door, put the rope around his neck and stepped of his support.
Desperate people need help, and they will find a way to end their lives if they don't get it.
I was a paramedic and firefighter for 28 years and dealt with a lot of suicides and attempts. I am still amazed at how many people chose hanging and their 100% success rate. We had a couple of shooters survive and there would have been one more if trauma centers existed at the time. True Blue Sam's conclusion is exactly right.
ReplyDelete