Tuesday - July 01, 2008

Here They Go Again …

More than half firearm deaths are suicides

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens’ ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.

Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation’s nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There was nothing unique about that year—gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years. In 2005, homicides accounted for 40 percent of gun deaths. Accidents accounted for 3 percent. The remaining 2 percent included legal killings, such as when police do the shooting, and cases that involve undetermined intent.
...
The high court’s majority opinion made no mention of suicide. But in a dissenting opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer used the word 14 times in voicing concern about the impact of striking down the handgun ban.

“If a resident has a handgun in the home that he can use for self-defense, then he has a handgun in the home that he can use to commit suicide or engage in acts of domestic violence,” Breyer wrote.

Oh, just STFU already. You lost Heller, now get over it. 17,000 people killed themselves with a gun. 15,000 people found some other way. Meanwhile, 90,000,000 people who own guns didn’t kill themselves, nor did 210,000,000 other people who don’t own guns.

“Other methods are not as lethal,” said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore.

Golly gee whiz, do you think that’s why suicidal people choose to use a gun in the first place? Idiot.

Posted by Drew458     on 07/01/2008 at 09:28 AM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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