First off, it is 1 state, California. Second, after looking at how they extrapolated their data and adjusted for what they call a "hazard" ratio, I still don't see how the math works out. Third, LOOK AT THE FUNDING. This was one of the first things that was taught to me in my field when analyzing studies for possible biases and limitations. And all this doesn't even take into account intention when purchasing, existing mental illness, misclassification of hangun owners (meaning how they acquired said gun), their estimation of long-gun ownership, gun laws by state, population breakdown, etc. And just look at this statement they include:
Fifty-nine people were killed in the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, the deadliest in U.S. history. Approximately the same number die each day in the United States from suicide by firearm. Many of these deaths are preventable. Our study bolsters and extends the message from previous research: ready access to firearms, particularly handguns, is a major risk factor for suicide. Health care providers and policymakers should be aware of this risk. This information is also important for current and prospective firearm owners seeking to weigh the risks and perceived benefits of ownership.
and suicides don't correlate with gun ownership, just gun suicides do. So if people have access to fire arms, they use them in suicide, but otherwise they use other methods.
Its all so tiresome, they know what they are doing when they compare gun homicides in the US vs. gun murders in France.
If you own a gun, you are more likely to kill yourself than anyone else. Because a gun is such an effective killing tool, having one handy makes suicidal thoughts easier to act upon quickly.
The New York Times headline is a joke. Suicides with guns are not a joke.
I am not advocating any new laws or regulations, they would likely cause more problems than they solve. If a man wants to kill himself, I say that every man has the right to end his life if he so chooses.
Some suicides are acts of desperation, desperation that would ease in the fullness of time. Old people are most likely to kill themselves--for those the passage of time only promises decay. Euthanasia is widely practiced in the United States. They call it "palliative care". You pump the patient so full of morphine that they just stop breathing.
Often euthanasia is carried out without the consent of the incapacitated patient.
In some ways, doctors are more dangerous to us than guns.
I did not expect that answer when I started this comment. Go figure.
Palliative care is not the same as euthanasia. Palliative care is when the doctors know that death is imminent so they provide you with drugs that will make you suffer less during those final moments. It is not suicide because the purpose is not to make you die quicker, the purpose is to make sure you die without as much pain.
Euthanasia is not when death is imminent and is the intentional killing of a person via drugs. There are a few states that allow it for anyone who wishes to end their life. They do not even have to be in pain at the moment they choose to be euthanized. They are required to have a terminal illness, but they could still have years of their life left with treatment. It is by all means suicide.
Palliative care is when the doctors know that death is imminent so they provide you with drugs that will make you suffer less during those final moments.
That is the official theory. The practice is that morphine is administered in doses that are sure to kill the patient. Accelerating the death of the dying is considered an implicit benefit. I have personally witnessed the acceleration of dying being explicitly described as a benefit by the attending physician.
You're misunderstanding the statistics. Suicide is the number 2 cause of death for young people. Old people are also much more likely to commit suicide than young people. Both things are true. Old people are just also much more likely to die of a bunch of other causes, so it pushes suicide down in ranking.
I am not advocating any new laws or regulations, they would likely cause more problems than they solve. If a man wants to kill himself, I say that every man has the right to end his life if he so chooses.
The only problem I have with this is that suicidal thoughts are often transitory and with help people can go on to live productive and happy lives. If they can act on their impulse quickly while in the depths of despair then they lose that chance, and that's a tragedy.
All that being said, I'm not suggesting any sort of gun control is the answer
Oh, so now they want to talk about how many "gun deaths" in America are actually suicides. (Spoiler: Over half).
Nah, they’re going to casually omit that part of the statistic
I actually went to look at the study here:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1916744
First off, it is 1 state, California. Second, after looking at how they extrapolated their data and adjusted for what they call a "hazard" ratio, I still don't see how the math works out. Third, LOOK AT THE FUNDING. This was one of the first things that was taught to me in my field when analyzing studies for possible biases and limitations. And all this doesn't even take into account intention when purchasing, existing mental illness, misclassification of hangun owners (meaning how they acquired said gun), their estimation of long-gun ownership, gun laws by state, population breakdown, etc. And just look at this statement they include:
Fifty-nine people were killed in the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, the deadliest in U.S. history. Approximately the same number die each day in the United States from suicide by firearm. Many of these deaths are preventable. Our study bolsters and extends the message from previous research: ready access to firearms, particularly handguns, is a major risk factor for suicide. Health care providers and policymakers should be aware of this risk. This information is also important for current and prospective firearm owners seeking to weigh the risks and perceived benefits of ownership.
and suicides don't correlate with gun ownership, just gun suicides do. So if people have access to fire arms, they use them in suicide, but otherwise they use other methods.
Its all so tiresome, they know what they are doing when they compare gun homicides in the US vs. gun murders in France.
If you own a gun, you are more likely to kill yourself than anyone else. Because a gun is such an effective killing tool, having one handy makes suicidal thoughts easier to act upon quickly.
The New York Times headline is a joke. Suicides with guns are not a joke.
I am not advocating any new laws or regulations, they would likely cause more problems than they solve. If a man wants to kill himself, I say that every man has the right to end his life if he so chooses.
Some suicides are acts of desperation, desperation that would ease in the fullness of time. Old people are most likely to kill themselves--for those the passage of time only promises decay. Euthanasia is widely practiced in the United States. They call it "palliative care". You pump the patient so full of morphine that they just stop breathing. Often euthanasia is carried out without the consent of the incapacitated patient.
In some ways, doctors are more dangerous to us than guns.
I did not expect that answer when I started this comment. Go figure.
Palliative care is not the same as euthanasia. Palliative care is when the doctors know that death is imminent so they provide you with drugs that will make you suffer less during those final moments. It is not suicide because the purpose is not to make you die quicker, the purpose is to make sure you die without as much pain.
Euthanasia is not when death is imminent and is the intentional killing of a person via drugs. There are a few states that allow it for anyone who wishes to end their life. They do not even have to be in pain at the moment they choose to be euthanized. They are required to have a terminal illness, but they could still have years of their life left with treatment. It is by all means suicide.
That is the official theory. The practice is that morphine is administered in doses that are sure to kill the patient. Accelerating the death of the dying is considered an implicit benefit. I have personally witnessed the acceleration of dying being explicitly described as a benefit by the attending physician.
Death ends all suffering.
You're misunderstanding the statistics. Suicide is the number 2 cause of death for young people. Old people are also much more likely to commit suicide than young people. Both things are true. Old people are just also much more likely to die of a bunch of other causes, so it pushes suicide down in ranking.
The only problem I have with this is that suicidal thoughts are often transitory and with help people can go on to live productive and happy lives. If they can act on their impulse quickly while in the depths of despair then they lose that chance, and that's a tragedy.
All that being said, I'm not suggesting any sort of gun control is the answer