Firearms & Suicide

200 million guns are now in the hands of individual Americans, which is more than double the number held in 1969.

60% of all people who commit suicide kill themselves with a firearm, accounting for more than 18,000 deaths each year in the U.S.

Between 1980 and 1992, the annual number of firearm suicides increased by 18%. Firearms accounts for 77% of increased number of suicides. Increases were particularly large in the 10 to 19 year age group, and in Americans older than 80.

Firearms are now the most frequent method of suicide for men and women of all ages, including boys and girls aged 10 to 14 years of age.

More than 90% of people who commit suicide with a firearm already have the gun in the house.

Although most gun owners reportedly keep a firearm in their home for "protection" or "self-defense," only 2% of gun related deaths in the home are the result of a homeowner shooting an intruder; while 3% are accidental child shootings, 12% are the result of adult partners shooting one another, and 83% are the result of a suicide, often by someone other than the gun owner.

Among people with no known mental disorders, those with a loaded gun in the house are 32 times more likely to commit suicide.

The total suicide rate is lower in states with stricter gun control laws, which indicates that only a limited number of suicidal people switch to an alternative method for suicide.

The availability of guns in the home, independent of firearm type or method of storage, markedly increases the likelihood of suicide by a young person in such a home.

(Sources: National Center for Health Statistics, New England Journal of Medicine,American Foundation of Suicide Prevention)

White males aged 85 years and over account for the highest rate for suicide by firearms.