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Out of the Darkness

June 24th, 2008, blog post by kmcomer

A comment on NPR’s Talk of the Nation Blog on the DC Gun Ban Case reads, “12 years ago my 16 year old brother discovered a gun at a friend's home which was unlocked, loaded and barely hidden. Later he stole that gun and used it to end his own life.”
Firearm accessibility and suicide are intimately linked. According to the Means Matter organization at the Harvard School of Public Health research has consistently shown that access to firearms increases the likelihood of a completed suicide in a home. Populations roughly equal, states with higher levels of gun ownership have much higher overall suicide rates – why? Because they have much higher firearm suicide rates. Suicide rates by other means across those same states are roughly equal; it is access to firearms that increases the lethality.
Firearm suicide impacts over 300 families in our state each year. Washington's own Youth Suicide Prevention Project (YSPP) has found that among our youth, firearms are the most frequent method of choice for those who complete suicide.
The grief and loss of a child, a brother, a sister, or a friend to suicide is a pain that stays with the survivors all of their lives. But suicide is preventable. 90% of those who attempt suicide and survive do not attempt again. The decision to take one’s life is often an impulsive one related to a specific and acute personal crisis that will pass with time. Restricting access to firearms in a time of emotional crisis can help to save lives because firearms are the most lethal means a person can use to attempt suicide.
This weekend, I worked on the YSPP’s relief team for The Overnight, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s walk to raise awareness and funding for suicide prevention. Families, friends, and loved ones who had been personally affected by suicide walked overnight beginning at dusk and ending at dawn. Their courage and dedication was a powerful inspiration of the work we must continue – to raise awareness about the connection between firearms and suicide and encourage people to store their guns safely or remove them from their homes if a loved one is at risk.
Together we can save lives!
Our team in front of our Rest Stop a couple of hours before we saw the first walkers come through.