- Why might the availability of firearms increase the risk of suicide in the United States? First, many suicidal acts — one third to four fifths of all suicide attempts, according to studies — are impulsive. Among people who made near-lethal suicide attempts, for example, 24% took less than 5 minutes between the decision to kill themselves and the actual attempt, and 70% took less than 1 hour.2
Second, many suicidal crises are self-limiting. Such crises are often caused by an immediate stressor, such as the breakup of a romantic relationship, the loss of a job, or a run-in with police. As the acute phase of the crisis passes, so does the urge to attempt suicide. The temporary nature and fleeting sway of many suicidal crises is evident in the fact that more than 90% of people who survive a suicide attempt, including attempts that were expected to be lethal (such as shooting oneself in the head or jumping in front of a train), do not go on to die by suicide. Indeed, recognizing the self-limiting nature of suicidal crises, penal and psychiatric institutions restrict access to lethal means for persons identified as potentially suicidal.
Third, guns are common in the United States (more than one third of U.S. households contain a firearm) and are lethal. A suicide attempt with a firearm rarely affords a second chance. Attempts involving drugs or cutting, which account for more than 90% of all suicidal acts, prove fatal far less often.
Does it? I've known half a dozen people or so who've killed themselves. Only one was by gun, and that was a shotgun. One car-in-the-garage, couple OD's, and a couple hangings. All you need to kill yourself is a bed sheet. Always a bad idea to use a theory to promote a political position when the theory is in direct opposition to actual empirical data.
Physicians and other health care providers who care for suicidal patients should be able to assess whether people at risk for suicide have access to a firearm or other lethal means and to work with patients and their families to limit access to those means until suicidal feelings have passed. A Web site of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center can help physicians and others in this effort (www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter). Effective suicide prevention should focus not only on a patient's psychological condition but also on the availability of lethal means — which can make the difference between life and death. Is a bit more important than what you quoted, I think.
I like the part you quoted because many many people misunderstand how people go from not wanting to die to committing suicide. My friend explained it as something just switching in her brain so "less than 5 minutes" is generous in her case. It took a split second to go from not really suicidal to attempting suicide The veteran who tells his depressed, alcoholic neighbour with guns in his house that if he sees him drinking again he'll have them taken away understands suicide. It's understanding that lead him to say that and mean it. So if understanding is what gets people to take the issue seriously then what you point out is very important.