Advertisement: “The 2020 firearm purchase surge does not guarantee a subsequent epidemic of suicide deaths, but it most definitely increases risk,” wrote authors Craig Bryan, a psychologist who directs trauma and suicide prevention programs at Ohio State University, and Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center. Gun violence is one of the most pressing health crises in the country. In 2019, nearly 40,000 people died by firearms – the majority in suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Arizona’s gun death rate was about 27% higher than the national average in 2019, according to CDC data, with 1,136 deaths by firearms that year – 70% of them suicides. White people were far more likely to die of gun-related suicide in the state, while Black people and Native Americans were statistically overrepresented among homicide victims.
Rising gun sales could result in more deaths, injuries and suicides, health experts fear kold.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kold.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Firearm owners listen most to law enforcement and military members, Rutgers study finds Law enforcement and those in the military, rather than doctors.
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Law enforcement and those in the military, rather than doctors and celebrities, are the most preferred messengers on firearm safety, a Rutgers study found.
The findings, published in the journal
Preventive Medicine, can help communicate the importance of safe firearm storage and reduce the rate of suicides, Rutgers researchers say. We know that safe firearm storage is a key component to suicide prevention, but that belief is not widespread among firearm owners, said lead author Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and an associate professor of Urban-Global Public Health at Rutgers School of Public Health. No matter how clear the message is, if it is being delivered by the wrong person, it is not going to have the desired effect.