Will Gun Control Prevent Suicides?

Anti-gun advocates cite the prevention of suicide as one of the reasons to further restrict gun ownership or as a reason for totally disarming the population eventually. But is disarmament effective in reducing the suicide rate of any given country?

The country with the highest suicide rate in the world is South Korea, where there are 24.7 suicides per 100,000 people. In 2007, there were estimated 510,000 firearms in civilian hands in South Korea. That number includes rifles and shotguns along with handguns. By 2017, that number had been reduced to just 79,000 firearms, with the number of handguns in civilian hands being just 1,758, the most popular firearm of choice for suicide. Yet, South Korea still has the highest suicide rate in the world.

Hungary ranks second with 21.0 suicides per 100,000 people. Only 22,963 handguns are in the hands of the citizenry and Hungary ranks 74^th out of 178 countries in firearm ownership. Yet it boasts a suicide rate second only to South Korea.

Japan has the third highest rate of suicide with 19.4 per 100,000 committing suicide. Japan has only a reported number of handguns in civilian hands totaling a mere 77. Yet, Japan has the third highest suicide rate in the world.

Japan’s suicide rate is 60% higher than the global average, according to the World Health Organization. In 2014, the year that statistic was compiled, 25,000 Japanese citizens killed themselves, about 70 a day. Among children ages 10-19 in Japan, suicide is the leading cause of death. And while the suicide rate among older adults is declining, the rate among this 10-19 age group seems to be increasing. The greatest number of deaths seems to coincide with the return to school after summer break, with bullying, family issues and stress being the greatest factors.

With the availability of guns obviously not being the greatest contributing factor, the Japanese government has decided to try another approach and is attempting to lower the suicide rate by 30% by 2026. Hiring counselors for school-age youth and creating 24-hour Help Lines to address mental challenges being the goal. Such efforts are overdue, as the suicide rate in Japan among the young is the highest it has been in 30 years.

Belgium has the fourth highest rate of suicides in the world with 18.4 per 100,000 people. Only 5.8% of households in Belgium have a firearm of any kind. Belgium has established the legality of assisted suicide and from 2002-2011 some 5,500 have chosen that option. Close to 1% of all total deaths in Belgium are from euthanasia.

Coming in fifth is Finland with a suicide rate of 16.5 per 100,000 people. Only 13% of households in Finland have guns of any kind and yet it boasts the fifth highest in suicides. Half of all suicides in Finland were committed by people who were under the influence of alcohol or dependent upon the substance, with males being more likely to commit suicide than females.  

A suicide occurs somewhere in the world every 40 seconds with about 800,000 people killing themselves annually. When factoring in all the violent deaths worldwide, including those from wars, suicide accounts for 15% or five times as many violent deaths each year than those occurring in war zones.

Compare that to the United States which has a suicide rate of 10.1 per 100,000. In America, the number of households with one or more guns stands at a whopping 42.0%, much higher that South Korea, Hungary, Japan, Belgium or Finland. In fact, the US has somewhere between 111,300,000 to 114,000,000 handguns in civilian hands. Note, that is millions, not thousands, and some estimates go as high as 350,000,000, enough for every man, woman and child in America to have a gun.

The United States, among the 178 countries studied, is ranked #1 in private gun ownership and yet we are #10 of the top 26 countries in suicide. We have more guns in private ownership than every other country in the world and if you believe the Liberal gun-haters, we should have the highest suicide rate. Guns don’t cause suicides, mental attitudes and the inability to cope with circumstances in life itself causes suicides.

In contrast to it all, Greece has 1,920,000 guns, counting legal and illegal ones, and amazingly it has the lowest suicide rate in the world, coming in at a small 2.9 of 100,000 people. The number of households with one or more firearms in Greece rests at 20.6%. Greece shows that although 1 in 5 homes has firearms in them, suicide is not a naturally occurring result of gun ownership.

As South Korea, Hungary, Japan, Belgium and Finland prove, if guns are not available, people who want to die will find another way. With a cultural stigma attached in many cultures in the world to suicide, it can be assumed that the number of reported suicides might be lower than the actual number, making it a bigger problem than anyone will admit to.

True to form, beginning in 2019, Democrats have already vowed to make gun control a top priority when they regain power in the House come January. It is their pet cause regardless of the facts. If they really cared about public safety, guns would not be the target of their Liberal agenda. Mental illness should be. But then, that would not be a very popular campaign slogan to run on, now would it?