Full-Court Press Against Guns Continues, This Time Touting Suicides

By Tom Knighton

On Friday, I wrote about how there has reportedly been an increase in firearm-related homicides. I also pointed out then that it still pales in comparison to the number of times people use a firearm in self-defense.

The full-court press against guns and gun ownership didn’t end there, however.

It seems NPR was taking a different tactic, using suicides committed with firearms to try and subtly force the issue.

“I believe we have a major public health crisis that we’re not doing nearly enough about,” said Jennifer Stuber, policy director of Forefront Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington, which works to educate people in gun culture about the risks of firearm suicide.

Stuber’s husband ended his life with a firearm in 2011.

“The public is really misinformed about this issue,” she said. “They think it’s homicide. But 60 to 80 percent of gun deaths are suicides, depending on what state you’re in. So we have to start raising awareness about this.”

Paul Nestadt, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins who studies suicide at the School of Public Health, agreed.

“As I looked into suicide more and more, it became very clear that access to lethal means, specifically guns, was one of …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms