Guns and suicides

The article on gun suicides (“Gun suicides common, outside spotlight,” March 25, 2018) truly misses the mark as it strongly implies that fewer guns would equal fewer suicides. Consider the following: The United States, with a population of 330 million, averages 44,200 suicides annually; Japan with 126 million people, has 32,000 suicides annually, a percentage over double the U.S. – and with fewer than 30 of those suicides caused by a gun. Japan has extremely strict guns laws with only 0.6 percent of the population owning a gun.

Top three suicide methods for Americans: 1 - gun (51 percent), 2 - hanging/suffocating (25 percent), 3 - poison (17 percent). For Japanese: 1 - hanging/suffocating (66 percent), 2 - inhaling gases (16 percent), 3 - jumping (from heights, in front of car, bus, train) (7 percent) and by gun less than .1 percent. As in the U.S., men commit suicide by a significantly higher rate than women.

People commit suicides, not guns. More gun control would only mean fewer suicides by gun, not fewer suicides. People determined to kill themselves will, regrettably, kill themselves.

Dennis Johnson

Spokane