(October 3, 2015 at 9:57 am)robvalue Wrote: I'd say guns do have some part to play in suicides. If I had a gun, it's way more likely I'd put it to my head and pull the trigger than slice my wrists or jump off a cliff. Suicide isn't easy, and providing an instant kill machine means people are more likely to do something they would have regretted.
Seriously, when I had my freak out in the hospital, if I'd have had a gun, I may well have blown my head off. Having no easy way to hand to hurt myself, I came back to my senses.
I'm all for allowing people the right to suicide, but not for making it this easy to pull off in a moment of madness.
Yes, I'd say the suicides by gun definitely have to be counted when we're talking about the effect guns have on a society. Suicide is tough to do, but guns make it seem so easy. There was a point in my life that I felt the only reason I hadn't offed myself was that I didn't have easy access to a gun. When I found my parents actually had one stashed in their basement, I kind of freaked out on them. They said they were pretty sure it didn't work, though.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
