User:Chung.esther/Firearm Suicide

A recent article released by the BBC states that contrary to the increase of suicide awareness in America, the rate of suicide itself is still on the rise (Prasad, 2018). The Center for Disease Control in America reports that in the past 17 years there has been a 30% raise in suicide rates in more than half of the states, with the nation experiencing an overall 20% increase in suicide. While suicide awareness is increasing in America, the relationship between abundance of firearms and suicide remains undermined. National debates on gun control remain fixated on school shootings, the fact that two thirds of gun related deaths are suicides has fallen under the public radar. The issue that should be discussed when debating about gun control laws is that the current status of gun laws is contributing to the higher rates of suicide in America.

Currently, the laws regulating the use, purchase, and trading of firearms are highly varied from coast to coast (Cage, 2013). However certain areas of the US show similar trends in gun laws. After splitting a map of the states into: The Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, and Midwest with each region color coded for what kinds of regulations they have on gun laws, it seems the Midwest and Southeast have the least legislature regulating firearm use and purchase. These regions correlate with the states with the highest increases of suicide rates in the past 17 years (Prasad, 2018). For many of the states in the Midwest and Southeast region there is missing or unclear legislature on gun control and the open and concealed carrying or handguns and long guns are allowed with or without a permit depending on the state (Cage, 2013).

The criteria for the rating of gun control by state followed four categories. The first category tracked from state to state was whether you were allowed to conceal or openly carry your handgun or your long gun. The subcategories for concealment and openly carrying were the same and as follows: no permit required, permit granted if requirements (non- specified and different per state) were met, permit issued by the local authorities (for concealed only), or carrying (open or concealed) was illegal. The second category was regarding the buying, selling, and registration of guns. The category was split into no registration required, informal registration, and illegal to buy or sell guns. A third category was in regards to the “shoot first” law which was enacted by twenty-seven states. The “shoot first” law states that one is allowed to shoot one’s attacker without first retreating. This third category was divided into degrees of when shooing first was permittable. The states had four different degrees of the law: permits deadly force without retreat in public areas, permits deadly force while in a vehicle, the legality of deadly force is discussed case by case in front of a jury, and prohibition of deadly force. The fourth category was whether gun shows or private sellers of firearms were legal and the category was split into no law/ requirement, and regulation exists that may restrict certain types of guns. The fifth category was “safety” and stated whether there was or was not a regulation requiring the reporting of lost/stolen firearms or locking devices between transfers. The last category was an elaboration on the first and second category and dealt with specific areas where guns were allowed. The areas discussed were college campuses, alcohol serving venues, places of worship, arenas, and hospitals and the subcategories were guns were prohibited, guns were prohibited based off local authority discretion, or no specific law regulating guns.

While the map described above was useful to track legislation on firearms per state, it did not relate gun control to suicide rates. A more specific study by Anestis,M and Anestis, J (2013) looked at four handgun laws that varied across states in America and compared them to rates of suicide in the US. The first law required a waiting period before completing a handgun purchase. The second law required a background check before the purchase of a handgun or before receiving a permit to buy from a private seller. The third law mandated the lockage of privately owned handguns when stored. The last law restricted openly carrying a gun around. Each law, except the law requiring the waiting period, was associated with lower rates of suicide. From the years of 2009 to 2013 when this study took place, in 2011 the District of Columbia extended the waiting period to purchase a gun from purchase not application, in 2009 South Dakota repealed the law for the waiting period, in 2011 California restricted the open carry of handguns, and in 2012 Oklahoma required a concealed permit to openly carry a handgun. DC saw a decrease in suicide by 1.5% between the years of 2011 to 2013. South Dakota saw an increase in suicide rates by 8.9% between the years of 2009-2013 following their repeal of the waiting period to purchase firearms. Between 2011-2013 California saw a 1% decrease in suicide rates. Lastly from 2012-2013 Oklahoma saw a 1.7% decrease in suicide rates following their requirement of a permit for openly carrying a handgun. The conclusion of the study showed that an increase in legislature regulating firearm possession in America lead to a decrease in suicide rates.

There are certain areas in the United States where firearms are illegal entirely which provides researchers a better look at the association between firearms and suicide (Loftin, Mcdowall, Wiersema, and Cottey,1991). In 1976, the District of Columbia banned the possession, sale, transfer, and purchase of handguns by civilians. The study by Loftin, Mcdowall, Wiersema, and Cottey (1991) reflects on the rate of homicides and suicides in the District of Columbia since the illegalization of handguns. The results of the study showed that homicide by handguns decreased by 25% while suicides by handgun decreased by 23%. Meanwhile the rates of homicide and suicide by any other means than the use of a handgun did not change. The study also observed the rates of homicide and suicide in the surrounding areas where the restrictions were not applied and noted that there was no significant change in these rates. The study therefore concluded that the illegalization of handguns in DC was associated with the decline in homicides and suicides by firearms.

The regulating of firearms in the United States is extremely convoluted and confusing between state lines and even within a state itself. Some states have many laws regulating firearms (restricting or allowing) while other states do not have available legislature at all. The regulation of firearms would be much simpler if guns were made illegal in the US however the Constitution protects one’s “right to arms” (Oyez, 2019). There have been attempts to regulate firearms at a national level but many citizens believe the rights of the state governments should not be overshadowed by the federal government. A landmark case that exemplifies this ideology would be the Printz vs United States case which took place on December 6th, 1996. The federal government wanted to temporarily regulate the purchasing of handguns by performing background checks as specified in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. This was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that state legislatures were not constrained by federal direction. Therefore the laws regarding gun control remain up to the states instead of the federal government.

Lack of legislation restricting firearms leads to an increase in rates of suicide (Anastis et. al, 2013). The above statement can only be true if an increase in firearms truly leads to an increase in suicide. There are several studies showing the seeming association between the availability of firearms to rates of suicide. One such study was conducted by Kellermann, Rivara, Somes, Reay, Francisco, Banton, Prodzinski, Fligner, and Hackman (1992). The researchers designed and conducted a case control study in the locations of two counties: Shelby County, Tennessee and King County, Washington. The cases of suicide that took place in the victim’s home were recorded for both counties between August 23rd, 1987 and April 1990. The study used the cases who were deemed suicides by the medical examiners and cases with potential litigation over the cause of death were excluded from the study. Each case subject was found a proxy who was preferably a relative who lived in the same home as the case subject. The proxy was then given a matching control who lived in the same county. The variables of race, sex, and age range were controlled. Each proxy and control was interviewed on the presence of guns in their home along with questions about domestic violence, drug/ alcohol consumption, and criminal records. The study showed that 73% and 83% of at home suicides were committed with a gun in Shelby and King County respectively. This lead the study to conclude that the increased availability of firearms was likely to be associated with higher rates of at home suicides.

As implied by the studies discussed in this paper, the current status of legislature regulating firearms is related to the high rates of suicide in America. It has been shown that the availability of firearms lead to an increase in rate of suicide in the home. A possible way to decrease firearm availability would be to increase legislation restricting firearms. However, the regulation of firearms is highly stratified between states. Both outlawing firearms and nationally regulating firearms have been answered with backlash from more conservative parties and thus the dissimilarity of gun laws across state lines persists. While the debate on gun control and legislation regarding firearm regulation remains focused on public shootings, the issue of guns and suicide remain undiscussed. A more cohesive argument, including the association between guns and suicide, should be given to argue the case for more legislation restricting the possession of firearms.

Works Cited

Anestis, M. D., & Anestis, J. C. (2015). Suicide Rates and State Laws Regulating Access and      Exposure to Handguns. American Journal of Public Health, 105(10), 2049-2058. Doi:       10.2105/ajph.2015.302753

Cage, F., & Dance, G. (2013, January 16). Gun laws in the US, state by state – interactive. Retrieved from                                     https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/jan/15/gun-laws-united-states

Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Somes G, Reay DT, Francisco J, Banton JG, et al. Suicide in the

home in relation to gun ownership. N Engl J Med. 1992;327:467–72.

Loftin C, McDowall D, Wiersema B, Cottey TJ. Effects of restrictive licensing of handguns on                homicide and suicide in the District of Columbia. N Engl J Med. 1991;325(23):1615--         1620.

Opoliner et al.: Explaining geographic patterns of suicide in the US: the role of firearms and        antidepressants. Injury Epidemiology 2014 1:6.

Prasad, R. (2018, June 11). Why US suicide rate is on the rise. Retrieved from       https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44416727

Printz v. United States. (n.d.). Oyez.Retrieved January 25, 2019, from       https://www.oyez.org/cases/1996/95-1478