When a Handgun Is in the Home, Suicide Risk Rises

Studdert and his colleagues reported the findings in the June 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Americans own more guns than civilians in any other country, the researchers pointed out. Meanwhile, the United States also has one of the highest rates of suicide by gun in the world.

Yet the issue gets relatively little attention, Studdert said.

Firearm homicides — particularly mass shootings — garner widespread media coverage, and much of the focus in debates over gun control. But two-thirds of U.S. deaths that involve guns are actually suicides, Studdert said.

Statistics like those have experts worried in the current social context. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit U.S. shores, data show that gun purchases are up, Webster noted — though it’s not clear how many of those are first-time buys.

But the mix of unemployment, social isolation, emotional distress and easy access to guns is obviously ominous.

“We’re worried,” Webster said. “And anyone who studies suicide is concerned.”

The current findings are based on California state data on handgun transfers and mortality records. During the study period, more than 1.4 million people died, including nearly 17,900 suicide deaths. Almost 6,700 involved a gun.

A firearm was used in 89% of suicide deaths among handgun owners, versus 33% among non-owners.

According to Webster, a myth persists that “guns don’t matter” and a person intent on suicide will find another way. But, he said, statistics show that when people survive a suicide attempt, they usually get help and do not attempt it again.

Guns are so highly lethal, they rarely allow people to have that chance, Webster said.

There is evidence that gun policies can help prevent suicides. They include waiting periods — which may keep a gun out of the hands of someone intent on suicide — and stricter licensing requirements, Webster added.

And preliminary evidence suggests benefits from so-called “red flag” laws — which allow civil courts to order a temporary removal of firearms from people believed to be at imminent risk of harming themselves or others.

A number of U.S. states have enacted such laws, and Studdert said recent research has turned up “encouraging signs” that they can reduce firearm suicides.