According to a Stanford research study.
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/06/handgun-ownership-associated-with-much-higher-suicide-risk.html
Thank you for bringing this up Walleye. It is a public service.
My strong advice: If you have a friend or family member who is suicidal, get guns out of the home asap.
When I was in clinical practice as a therapist, this is one of the first things I did when evaluating/treating
a patient with serious suicidal thoughts. Called the family, explained the situation, and
asked that all guns be removed during treatment, at least until the patient was stable and low risk.
Preferably never have one in the home again.
Sometime the family refused, saying I was "violating their rights" by just asking asking them to
remove the guns.
I explained that I had a duty to warn and protect as per our state's licensing/professional laws.
I would be violating the law if I did not make the call and insist the guns be removed. I also did
not tolerate their refusal and pointed out that if they got me tangled up in violation of state law,
and in fact their family member died, we would all be going to court together.
100% of the time, they either agreed on the spot or called me the next day, apologized and told me the
guns had been removed. I insisted on time and date of removal, where the guns were being stored,
name of responsible person and documented all of it.
That is how serious I took the gun situation in my practice when treating suicidal patients.
Because the risk of death was so damn high with a gun in the home.
Then the state politicians talked about making it illegal for healthcare professionals to ask
about guns in the home. So we are supposed to let patients kill themselves.
Luckily this law did not get passed. Because if it had, I would be looking for a new career field.
I am not going to stand by and let people shoot themselves to death on my watch.
I had a 40 year career as a therapist and I never lost one patient to suicide, no homicides either.
How did I do that? I am perfectly nice, laid back, reasonable therapist until lives are in danger and
then I run a very tight ship. If they followed my clinical advice, everyone would stay safe.
And they did. Thank God.
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