The Coloradoan
More people used a gun to take their own lives last year in Colorado than died in motor vehicle accidents, marking the first time that suicide by gun outpaced traffic deaths in the state.
Gun deaths have been more numerous than automotive fatalities in Colorado since 2009, but 532 gun-involved suicides outnumbered the 457 deaths in car crashes last year, state health data shows. Gun-involved suicides in the state jumped nearly 20 percent between 2011 and 2012, the largest such leap in more than a decade.
Experts say many of these deaths are preventable, but prevention requires framing suicide as a public health issue, not an insular problem.
"Despite strides made in traffic safety, injury death is on the rise in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteThe fastest rising causes of injury death in the state are poisonings, which includes drug overdoses; fatal falls, which predominantly affect the state’s growing senior population; and suicides. In 2012, 673 people died from poisoning or drug overdose, 679 sustained fatal injuries from a fall, and 1,053 died from suicide, a nearly 44 percent increase since 2000 — adjusted for Colorado’s population growth."
"Douglas County Coroner Lora Thomas agreed that removing guns temporarily from a suicidal person is a step that shows friends or family members care. But Thomas, who spent six years as an independent contractor researching suicide for the National Violent Death Reporting System, said policy actions should not interfere with Americans’ right to use firearms."
So they are having issues controlling both causes of death. Plus it is by no means the biggest problem.
That makes at least 11 states and D.C., with more coming close and soon to join. http://newtrajectory.blogspot.com/2012/05/death-by-gun-now-higher-in-10-states.html
ReplyDeleteWhile the number of deaths in auto accidents is a good thing, suicides, to include those using a firearm are a different problem. There are already laws on the books to allow mental health providers and emergency personnel to take a person into protective custody for those very important 72 hours that is mentioned in the quote below.
DeleteThe CDC shows the suicide rate over all rising from about 10.5 per 100k in 1999 to about 12.1 per 100k in 2010. However the firearm suicide rate stays almost unchanged going from 5.96 per 100k in 1999 to 6.06 per 100k in 2010. This lack of growth changed moved the percentage of gun suicides from 56% of all suicides to 51%.
The challenge is that once you allow the government to take away your guns for example during that important 72 hours, they are loath to return them.
http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe
“People do not want to die, they want to end their pain,” Breitzman said. “A suicidal crisis is very short lived, about 72 hours. If you can intervene at some point and remove either the means and/or offer resources, then you can prevent suicide.”