That study is an example of lies, damned lies, and statistics. It is an example of someone making a career of controversy rather than doing something useful. If they didn't do the matched-pairs control population right, the thing is beyond useless and downright misleading. Even if it was done right, they don't give you the odds ratio for any other exposure factor other than firearms. For all we know, there could be something like retiring having an odds factor of 20.6...
Unfortuantely I can't dig up the study, but I believe if you poke around there is one discussing the demographics of suicide in much detail. The big gun users IIRC were not teenagers but men who retired and men who were divorced in that order.
this link This link sort of has stats, but still has some serious leading in it. Especially in the teenager department. They throw the number 60% at you, when it is 60% of the increase, not of suicides. It's responsible for 60% of the 11% increase for the time frame. If you want to just see the raw numbers, go here: http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html Most successful suicides happen after the kids are adults.
From my personal experience, the teenagers don't use guns much. In high school and college, A knew a number of suicides and attempted suicides. only one of them used a gun, and they didn't have a gun in the home, he had aquired it illegally outside the home with the assistance of his brother.
He succeded, but so did the guy who ODed on heroin in his girlfriends bed, and the guy who hung himself, and the guy who wrapped his car around a highway divider at 90MPH. One guy came real close with prescription medication and alcohol, but was saved by childhood heart problems. His pacemaker wouldn't let his heart stop beating completely.
As for the attempted suicides, razors, knives, pills, alcohol, and drugs were very common. heck there was even a girl who tried to kill herself by sleeping with a kid who was supposed to be HIV positive. But rumors were just rumors and she just wound up with one more thing to depressed about.
Personally, rather than do the habituation thing with bits of gun, I'd try a proxy method if you go that route. get yourself a fake gun or something, and real storage methods and safety practices. Have your wife play the role of suicidal kid by trying to gain access to it in ways she thinks the kid would.
Both of you put your money where your mouth is so to speak.some CDC stats without too much opinion wrangling in them
Unfortuantely I can't dig up the study, but I believe if you poke around there is one discussing the demographics of suicide in much detail. The big gun users IIRC were not teenagers but men who retired and men who were divorced in that order.
this link This link sort of has stats, but still has some serious leading in it. Especially in the teenager department. They throw the number 60% at you, when it is 60% of the increase, not of suicides. It's responsible for 60% of the 11% increase for the time frame. If you want to just see the raw numbers, go here: http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html Most successful suicides happen after the kids are adults.
From my personal experience, the teenagers don't use guns much. In high school and college, A knew a number of suicides and attempted suicides. only one of them used a gun, and they didn't have a gun in the home, he had aquired it illegally outside the home with the assistance of his brother.
He succeded, but so did the guy who ODed on heroin in his girlfriends bed, and the guy who hung himself, and the guy who wrapped his car around a highway divider at 90MPH. One guy came real close with prescription medication and alcohol, but was saved by childhood heart problems. His pacemaker wouldn't let his heart stop beating completely.
As for the attempted suicides, razors, knives, pills, alcohol, and drugs were very common. heck there was even a girl who tried to kill herself by sleeping with a kid who was supposed to be HIV positive. But rumors were just rumors and she just wound up with one more thing to depressed about.
Personally, rather than do the habituation thing with bits of gun, I'd try a proxy method if you go that route. get yourself a fake gun or something, and real storage methods and safety practices. Have your wife play the role of suicidal kid by trying to gain access to it in ways she thinks the kid would.
Both of you put your money where your mouth is so to speak.some CDC stats without too much opinion wrangling in them
Last edited:
