Gun Suicide Research Paper

In the past few decades, the amounts of suicide have been on the rise in the United States and throughout the world. Before the early 90s, suicide was not a topic that was discussed frequently, it was rare that it was discussed in schools and in the press. Now that suicide rates have been rapidly on the rise in all age groups, Americans have no choice but to start talking about this issue and attempting to find solutions for this issue. The first step to solving a problem is getting people to talk about it. Suicide has been a topic of discussion in Congress, within sectors of the government, and even in classrooms across the United States. There are several causes that lead to suicide, and some of those issues can be prevent thus reducing the suicide rates in America, in particular. Although suicide is going to be a constant issue in the world, by putting emphasis on the problem of guns, it will exponentially reduce the suicide rates. In the past decade, the amount of gun violence has been on the rise, it is ultimately a crisis. Guns have been a part of the American society dating back centuries, however, recently guns have become an issue in the United States, in schools in particular. According to Everytown Research, since have been over 200 school shootings, which averages out to about one shooting per week. In 2007, the Virginia Tech shooting was one of the first mass shooting during the past decade. This started to shed light on the issue of guns in the United States. On December 14, 2012, the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting occurred. This shooting killed 28 people, most of which were young children. When this situation occurred it started to raise questions about how safe our kids were in school, or any place for that matter. This particular shooting shocked the country because these were young children involved. The most recent shooting was the Orlando club shooting. This hate crime resulted in the death of 50 people. After this incident many people who identified as homosexual or bisexual, were scared to go to clubs because they feared for their safety. Each of these incidents exposed the issue of gun usage in the United States. Having these tragic shootings occur, expose children at a young age about guns. In the past decade, however, there has been an increase of gun violence in the United States. With the increase of guns, there has been an increase in suicides as well. Studies have shown that there is a “fatal” link between guns and suicide. According to Karin Kiewra, author of Guns and Suicide: A Fatal Link, where guns are present, the suicide rates are higher. The strongest piece of evidence is the study that occurred in Wyoming. This study proved that “63 percent of household reported owning guns”, and in this …show more content…
As the study in Wyoming made clear, where there are guns, the suicide rates will be higher. In order to directly reduce the rates, guns must be taken away. Although most people might have them as protection, it can be a bad thing because this exposure could lead to people harming themselves. Given America’s unfortunate history with guns, it is almost inevitable that the United States will need to change its laws. In an attempt to make change for our policies, there have been groups such as the “Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence” which tries to get laws passed to increase the amount of gun violence in the United State. In addition to guns playing a huge role in suicides, guns have also been instrumental in other parts of the social spectrum. Gang violence has been on the rise since the 1980s, and it has only increased due to the use of guns. Once the War on Drugs started in the 1980s, guns were being used more and more causing the homicide rates to skyrocket as well. There is a lack of gun control simply because it is not hard to access guns in 2017. With easier access, there are more people that attempt to attain a gun. If it becomes harder for someone to get one, the it could discourage people from buying them. By enforcing gun control laws, not only the suicide rates will decrease but other crimes should decrease as