Guns And Suicide

Oleg Volk
"Let's examine the idea that removing guns from individual ownership would do anything to reduce suicide rates. We already know that substitution effect happens and people in countries like China and Japan simply find other means to kill themselves. However, US gun-banners maintain that gun suicide is somehow worse than other kinds, so let's consider what kind of weapon is required for a successful suicide.

Generally, only one shot is fired. Any firearm down to a 14th century matchlock would suffice for that. A matchlock can be made with a simple pipe with one end closed with a cap or even left open. In the latter case, more powder or other propellant such as aerosol would be needed but the effect would be much the same.

The projectile has to penetrate very little. If the gun is aimed at the person's eye or ear, there's not even skull bone in the way. Moreover, shots that fail to penetrate the skull would still likely kill by spalling on the inside. So any projectile , from a bullet down to batched stone or even a blank would kill a person who has the gun in contact with the head.

Moreover, the gun doesn't have to be a firearm. A pneumatic nail gun would work as well, as would a bangstick. A crossbow would work just as well. So restricting firearms -- including the obsolete matchlock, flintlock and percussion types would do nothing to reduce the effectiveness of suicides by those who decide to use projectiles to check out.


In other word, anti-gun people think nothing of endangering the lives of millions who want to use firearms for defense under the pretext of reducing the number of suicided -- and they are lying about that excuse, too."