The American Public Health Association, the American Association of Suicidology and two other groups filed a legal brief supporting the district's ban. The brief challenged arguments that if a gun is not available, suicidal people will just kill themselves using other means.
More than 90 percent of suicide attempts using guns are successful, while the success rate for jumping from high places was 34 percent. The success rate for drug overdose was 2 percent, the brief said, citing studies.
"Other methods are not as lethal," said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore.
Other methods of attempted suicide are not as lethal.... I wonder how many suicides by gunshots were for people who had made previous attempts and failed. ... which brings a question.. how depressing would that be? Many suicidal people are that way because they think they're failing at life... and if they fail to succeed at killing themselves, then they fail at that, too... no wonder treatment for that deep of a depression is so difficult.
(And please don't think I'm making toooo light of this; I've had two very close family members who were dangerously suicidal and have thankfully realized how misguided they were.)
I thought the libs were all for allowing people to commit suicide. Remember how they defended their buddy Dr. Death, Jack Kevorkian.