If you knew someone who was contemplating suicide and you could keep them from doing it, would you? Of course you would. Sept. 7 through 13 is Suicide Prevention Week and here is a suggestion as to how we can significantly reduce the number of suicides in Virginia. Lock up the guns.
There were 33,636 gun deaths in the United States in 2013. Nearly two-thirds — 21,175 — were suicides. More than half of all suicides in this country are carried out with a gun. In Virginia, there were 864 deaths by firearms in 2013 with 70 percent or 603 being suicides. If people contemplating suicide do not have access to a gun, they would have time to consider other ways of dealing with their depression, anger, despondency, feelings of rejection and hopelessness or whatever put them on this path of self-destruction. They could even pick up the phone and call a suicide prevention hotline.
Researchers have determined that 90 percent of those who survive a suicide attempt do not end up dying by their own hand. So by removing the most lethal suicide weapon, lives will be saved.
Suicide is a huge public health issue in this county. It is the 10th leading cause of death overall. One way to reduce the number of suicides is to take guns out of the equation by locking them up. Please do that now.
John K. Bergen
Alexandria
The writer is the coordinator for public health and safety for the Northern Virginia chapter of the Brady Campaign for the Prevention of Gun Violence.