Opinion/Your Turn: It's time to educate yourself about the how of suicide
We live in turbulent times. Just out of a worldwide epidemic and now in the midst of civil and political unrest, we’re not eager to deal with yet another social evil. Now, however, is the time to address an ongoing crisis that yearly claims thousands of American lives. The United States has an epidemic of gun violence. At 45,000 gun fatalities per year, we lead the world’s industrial nations with a rate 30 times higher than France, Israel and Britain, according to the Pew Research Center. In nine of our states gun deaths exceed traffic fatalities. Guns are now the number one cause of death of children in the United States.
Within this larger epidemic is a silent one. The astounding fact hidden in the numbers is that two-thirds of these gun deaths are suicides, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The gun problem in America, then, is not really due to a bad guy with a gun causing a tragedy nor a good guy with a gun stopping one. It is primarily about a good guy — hopeless and isolated from support — with a gun.
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Studies show he is most often white and between the ages of 52 and 59. If he lives on Cape Cod, he’s 1½ times more likely to take his own life than if he lived elsewhere in Massachusetts. If he is a veteran, he’s four times more likely to kill himself with a gun. 22KILL, an organization focused on veteran suicide, chose its name from statistics from the Veterans' Affairs office. Twenty-two veterans die by suicide each day. If he’s a cop, he’s also at a heightened risk. His action is impulsive — 90% of survivors do not make another attempt — and sadly it is preventable. All of which leads us to another slogan, one from the Harvard school of public health — MEANS MATTER.
Regarding victims of suicide, we tend to ask who and why, but how is of primary importance in determining whether they live or die. We’re not referring to gun owners, who are not more prone to be depressed or suicidal. The problem is when a person with suicidal thoughts has access to and uses a gun, he is unlikely to survive. MEANS MATTER is not gun control. It’s suicide control.
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Since the onset of the pandemic, firearm purchases in the U.S. have surged to a 64% increase, estimated to be over 21 million purchases. This buying frenzy and the residual stresses of the virus create a perfect storm for potential suicides and put many more ordinary citizens at a heightened risk.
What can be done? There is no one solution that will keep every last suicidal person from obtaining a firearm. There are, however, organizations, programs and interventions that have been successful in preventing a substantial number of such deaths.
Grandmothers Against Gun Violence, a local nonprofit group dedicated to firearm safety, has recently launched its “You Can Save a Life Now“ campaign. Its brochure (found at https://www.capecodgag.org/suicide_prevention.pdf) offers valuable resources and contact information for suicide prevention and safe storage. It also explains Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO/Red Flag Laws). If a loved one has too much to drink, you take his car keys because you care for him. ERPO empowers the people closest to a person at risk of harming himself or others to intervene and prevent a gun tragedy before it happens. In Indiana, which has had the law for some years, researchers tracked a 7.5% drop in the predicted rate of firearm suicides.
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September is National Suicide Awareness month. This is a good time to educate oneself regarding an ongoing epidemic that has claimed countless American lives for over half a century. The "You Can Save a Life Now" campaign was conceived before the pandemic but is now, because of it, more timely and more vital than ever. Further information may be found at www.capecodgag.org. Businesses, groups or individuals who would like brochures may email to capecodgagv@gmail.com.
If you need help
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 988.
Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can also use the Bay Cove Crisis Hotline at 1-833-229-2683. For more information about suicide prevention and how you can help, visit https://www.suicideispreventable.net/.
Donna Hannigan of Dennis is a member of Grandmothers Against Gun Violence/Cape Cod.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: OpED: National Suicide Month: Guns are leading means of suicide deaths
