Daylia, there are too many ways to kill oneself to blame one method. Suppose that young man decided to throw himself from a height in front of those people. Or to cut his throat, spraying them with blood. No, it doesn't do to blame the method.

He should have had help. I don't know -- perhaps those who succeed with suicide have something in their makeup, some defect. You came through, others did not. It sounds harsh and it is, but perhaps "the weak died on the way."

Yes, "survival of the fittest" is important. But still, because I did not have instant access to a firearm -- or even to prescription drugs -- at least I was spared the temptation of such quick, easy-looking "solutions" at those weakest, most dangerous of moments.

The stats do indicate a direct relationship between access to guns and "completed" suicides. According to the Canada Safety Council and Mood Disorders Society of Canada, reducing access to guns is an effective means of reducing/preventing suicide.

"The proportion of completed suicides is highest with a firearm (92 per cent). A home where there are firearms is five times more likely to be the scene of a suicide than a home without a gun ...

Nearly 80 per cent of all firearms deaths in Canada are suicides, compared to 15 per cent of homicides. A firearm is the method used in nearly 20 per cent of all suicide fatalities. Some say that in the absence of a firearm, a suicidal person will seek out another method, but research indicates that is not so.

A Quebec study by the Centre de pr�vention du suicide 02 examined whether suicide rates were related to gun ownership rates.4 It found that where hunting for sport is common and firearms are more readily available, the firearm suicide rate is higher than in urban areas.

Moreover, as the firearm related suicide rate increased, so did the overall death rate by suicide. The researchers concluded that if a suicidal person does not have access to a firearm, there is no evidence that another method will be used, at least not one as lethal as a firearm."


Interesting. The 21-yr old I mentioned above also enjoyed killing - or hunting, rather - for sport. Like most of his family and friends.