
The Majority Of Gun Deaths In The United States Are Suicide Deaths, And The Majority Of Suicide Deaths Are Gun Deaths. Most People Are Unaware That Suicide, At Nearly 43,000 Deaths Per Year, Is More Common Than Homicide And Other Widely Publicized Tragedies. And Yet, Suicide Is Typically Absent From Discussions Of Gun Violence. As Such, The National Conversation On Gun Violence Is Inadequate And Unrelated To The Majority Of Gun Deaths In This Country. In Guns And Suicide, Michael Anestis Reframes Our Perspective On Gun Violence By Shifting The Focus To Suicide. Guns Play A Uniquely Profound Role In American Suicide, And Anestis Explains How They Have This Effect-not By Making Otherwise Non-suicidal People Want To Die, But By Facilitating Suicide Attempts Among Suicidal Individuals. He Reviews The Evidence - In Suicide And Other Public Health Concerns - That Focusing On Specific Means For Contracting An Unwanted Outcome (e.g., Hiv) Can Successfully Reduce The Frequency Of That Outcome. With Suicide, This Could Mean The Passage Of Legislation Related To Firearm Ownership And Storage, Non-legislative Encouragement Of Safe Storage Of Private Firearms, Voluntary And Temporary Removal Of Firearms From The Home During Times Of Distress, Or A Combination Of These Factors. Importantly, This Is Not A Book About Gun Control. Anestis Does Not Argue In Favor Of Tighter Restrictions On Ownership, Assault Weapon Bans, Or Longer Waiting Periods For Purchase Because These Will Not Substantially Reduce The Staggering Gun Suicide Rate. Rather, Anestis Aims For A Cultural Shift Towards Suicide-specific Safe Gun Ownership And Puts Forth Unemotional Suggestions In Hopes Of Leveraging Common Ground In The Pursuit Of A Lower Suicide Rate.
This book investigates the critical intersection between firearm accessibility and suicide rates, arguing that suicide prevention must become a central component of the national conversation on gun violence. Michael D. Anestis, a researcher in the field of clinical psychology and suicide prevention, utilizes public health data to demonstrate that firearms facilitate lethal outcomes during periods of acute distress. The author proposes a shift toward suicide-specific safe storage practices and voluntary temporary removal of firearms as pragmatic interventions to reduce mortality.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts in public health and psychology recognize this work as a significant contribution to the discourse on firearm safety, noting its focus on evidence-based harm reduction. Readers frequently highlight the author's clinical, non-partisan approach as a useful framework for finding common ground in a polarized political environment.
Page Count:
264
Publication Date:
2018-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190675071
ISBN-13:
9780190675073
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