Posted by bleauberry on January 27, 2010, at 18:28:23
In reply to DON'T BUY A GUN!!! - They make 'it' much easier » evenintherain, posted by detroitpistons on January 27, 2010, at 14:16:40
Thanks for sharing. I don't disagree or agree, but respect the differing opinions in light of the fact that every home is going to present a different environment, scenario of possibilities, risks, and benefits.
My personal opinion is that a gun does not make it any more likely or less likely that someone will commit suicide. A rope does just fine in the absence of a gun. Much less mess too, if they are at all concerned about family members cleaning up the mess. A car driven off the highway into a tree does the job and doesn't look like suicide. And it's free. A gun costs money. Or find the breaker box in the house and grab the main wire. It's ll over in the blink of an eye. Chug down a bottle of Tequila along with a few Xanax or Klonopin, and it's a gentle smooth way to drift away forever without any drama or mess.
The point is, if someone is going to commit suicide, a gun is not going to make it more easy or less easy. It is just another option among several already available.
That's how I see it anyway. I've seen three suicides in my life. None involved a gun despite easy access to one in the room they killed themselves in.
Ok, let's assume some law says no one with depression can keep their gun. The Constitution says otherwise. It is a right of being a citizen. But that's another story. Ok, no gun, they took it away. Does that mean that person is more likely to live? No. Like I said, a rope, an electrical outlet, a car, a bathtub, and drugs, even an overdose of Vodka for pete's sake...all just as easy as gun, some as rapid, and some smoother and painless.
My opinion, a gun makes no difference one way or the other.
Throughout life, nothing is fair and nothing is guaranteed. Everything is a risk versus benefit scenario. As I see it, the benefits of gun ownership far outweigh by a huge margin the risks.
A family member deciding to hide a gun owned by a suicidal depressed family member, well, they shouldn't be surprised to come home and find that person hanging from a rope.
> Excellent post, in my honest opinion....Its spot on and includes some really interesting and useful information. Thanks for posting, evenintherain.
>
> Regarding the post at the very bottom of evenintherain's post below (originally posted by bleauberry):
> I too would be interested to know where bleauberrys statistics came from. By the way, Im not trying to create an argument here or to offend, or to ruffle any feathers. My mind is open to many different possibilities. But regardless of all of that, the only relevant statistics are those related to suicides, as far as I'm concerned.
>
> In other words, and to clarify, my original post was specifically and solely intended to be about gun ownership AS IT RELATES TO THE POPULATION OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE A HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO HAVE MADE 1 OR MORE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN THE PAST (sry, not yelling, just can't use italics)...Im not taking any position whatsoever about gun rights, gun laws/ constitutional matters, nor did I ever intend to address that. The whole gun debate is really outside of the narrow scope of my original post. Simply put - Im just making a general statement that certain individuals with known mood disorders like my friend, yours truly, and probably a good majority of the people on this board, SHOULD NOT OWN A GUN. I think that this really comes down to individual choice. My hope is that these people choose NOT to own a gun. Maybe psychiatrists/ psychologists/ therapists should make it a point to spend a couple minutes discussing this issue with anyone who battles with depression.
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>
>
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> > i would be interested to see these statistics and where they come from.
> >
> > in my opinion, it really isn't that easy to kill yourself through other means. there are times when, if i had access to a gun, i would have used it and i would be dead right now. i can say this with relative certainty and as someone who has previously attempted suicide.
> >
> > a huge amount of people kill themselves with guns. suicide is generally listed as 11th highest for cause of death in the USA (http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa.php?cause_id=11). homicide is 15th.
> > men complete suicide a lot more frequently than females, despite the fact that females attempt more than 3 times more frequently. men are more likely to use a gun.
> >
> > states with highest gun ownership per capita:
> > Louisiana, Alaska, Montana, Tennessee, Alabama.
> >
> > States with highest suicides rates:
> > Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico
> >
> > States with lowest gun ownership per capita:
> > Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York
> >
> > States with lowest suicide rates:
> > D.C., New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, Rhode Island
> >
> > no real definitive answers here, just interesting stats.
> >
> > i myself live in a state with very strict gun laws. i know, because at one time looked up getting one for suicidal reasons. if it had been easier to obtain, i doubt would be alive. i have a hard time believing this isn't the case for other people too.
> >
> > > Just for clarification, it is a proven fact
> > > that suicides, crimes, thefts, and murders are
> > > significantly lower in areas where there is a
> > > high level of gun ownership. In areas where
> > > there are few guns, suicides, crimes, thefts,
> > > and murders skyrocket. Gun ownership tends to
> > > ward off chaos and evil, as the founding
> > > fathers knew. A murder is less likely to happen
> > > when the potential murderer knows his target
> > > also has a loaded gun.
> >
>
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poster:bleauberry
thread:933660
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100122/msgs/935166.html