Of the people who died by suicide over the last twenty years, 55% used a firearm– most often a handgun. In a new report released by Lane County Public Health, statistics on suicide victims and mechanisms of death are laid bare.
The county’s Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Roger Brubaker culled through data from the Oregon Violent Death Report. He found that Lane County residents with no previous suicide attempts were three times more likely to die by a firearm compared to those who died by other means.
“Handguns are traditionally perceived as a way to create home safety. A way to protect one’s self,” said Brubaker. “However, the vast, vast majority of handgun deaths in our society are by suicide. And it’s an overwhelming number compared to homicide.”
Brubaker noted that regardless of how people interpret the 2nd Amendment, every gun owner can practice safety– including keeping guns unloaded and locked up. This affords time, he said flatly, between the impulse to die by suicide and the opportunity to act.
