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Suicide

A Gun in the House Increases the Risk of Suicide

Sometimes safe storage isn't enough.

When I was young, I liked to talk with my father about World War II. He was a lieutenant in the Army, served in Europe, and was responsible for dispatching trucks of food, clothing, supplies, and ammunition to the front. He was always a few miles from the heaviest fighting; still, artillery thundered in the sky and mortar shells burst around him.

One time I asked him if he had any mementos from the war. He showed me a few medals, his dog tags, and several old uniforms. "Anything else?” I said.

He hesitated, then said that he brought home a German Luger that was given to him as a present by another American soldier. My eyes opened wide. "Do you still have it?”

It was in the house, he said, but he didn't want to show it to me. The next time I was home alone I searched for it. Within an hour I found it, under some clothes at the back of his closet. As I held it in my hands, my heart was pounding with fascination and fear. I had never held a real gun before. It was small, black, made of metal, and surprisingly heavy—not at all like my toy guns.

I never told my father that I knew where he kept the gun. I never told him or anyone else how I fingered it and pretended to shoot someone—a burglar perhaps. When I put it back I was careful to leave everything exactly as I found it.

Within a few weeks, I forgot about the gun. I think about it now, though, every time I hear about another person—especially a teen—who shoots themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control, guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens.[1] According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, nearly 40 percent of youth suicides involve a gun.[2] According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the risk of suicide in homes with a gun is two to 10 times greater than in homes without a gun.[3]

When I was executive director of a busy, 24-hour crisis center, anytime people called our suicide hotline—a family member, teacher, coworker, or friend—worried that a person they knew was exhibiting suicidal tendencies, one of the first questions we asked was, “Is there a gun in the house?” Oftentimes the answer was "Yes, but..."

“Yes, but it's hidden." “Yes, but it’s locked up at all times.” “Yes, but it's not loaded, and the bullets are kept in a separate place.”

That may not be enough. If someone—a boy especially—knows there's a gun in the house, it's almost certain that he knows where it is. If it’s locked up, he knows where the key is. Like me, he's held it and imagined shooting it. And if he can access the gun, then there’s a good chance that he can find the bullets, even if they're stored elsewhere.

Adolescents tend to have lower self-esteem than adults. They’re also more likely to be influenced by personal relationships and idealistic factors. When something goes wrong—they flunk a test, break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, are bullied or ostracized by peers—easy access to a loaded firearm can be fatal.

That’s why gun owners need to be hyper-vigilant when it comes to gun storage and safety. Better yet, they should think about getting rid of the gun if they don’t have a compelling reason to keep it. Eliminating the means greatly reduces the risk.

References

[1] Centers for Disease Control. “Gun Suicides Reach All-Time High in 2022,” July 27, 2023.

[2] Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, “The Truth About Guns and Suicide.”

[3] Miller, Matthew and Hemenway, David. “Guns and Suicide in the United States.” New England Journal of Medicine, September 2008.

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