Title: Suicide in the Home in Relation to Gun Ownership

Publication Date: August 1992

What does it say?

This study looked at the association between the availability of firearms kept in the home and rates of suicide. Data was taken from all suicides that occurred over a 32-month period in Selby County, TN, and King County, WA. The majority of these suicides took place in the victim’s home, and over half were carried out with a gun.

Guns kept in the home were associated with a 5-times increase in the risk of suicide.

Guns kept in an unlocked place in the home were related to a higher risk of suicide and homes with handguns were found to have almost twice the risk of suicide compared to those with long guns only.

The study concludes that: “Ready availability of firearms is associated with an increased risk of suicide in the home. Owners of firearms should weigh their reasons for keeping a gun in the home against the possibility that it might someday be used in a suicide.”

How can I use it?

In the U.S., more people commit suicide with guns than by all other means combined. Reducing ready access to guns in the home and improving and enforcing safe-storage practices will help to reduce the number of suicides in the U.S.

Citation

Kellermann, Arthur L. et al., “Suicide in the Home in Relation to Gun Ownership,” New England Journal of Medicine, 327(7) (1992): 462-472

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