How do I reply to this with cold hard facts? <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>With the use of firearms responsible for 60% of all suicides in the US, just having a gun in the home is a risk factor for suicide, especially in the case of teenagers.
"There is a 30-fold increase in risk for suicide in adolescents if there is a gun in the home," the University of Pittsburgh's Dr. David A. Brent said at the Foundation for Suicide Prevention symposium held here this week. Dr. Brent is co-founder and director of services for Teens at Risk in Pennsylvania, a suicide prevention program. The risk exists for both male and female teens, he said.
Dr. Brent noted that the increases in the rates of youth suicide and suicide among young African-American men in recent years are primarily due to an increase in the rate of suicide by firearms. "In light of these findings, it would seem natural for clinicians to recommend that guns be removed from homes of all at-risk individuals, and that guns never be stored loaded, as they bestow an increased risk of suicide even to those without evidence of mental illness," he said.
In general, handguns seem to be associated with greater risk than long guns, and loaded guns present a higher risk than unloaded guns, but even locked guns convey a higher risk than no guns, Dr. Brent explained.
In one trial of depressed adolescents conducted by Dr. Brent and colleagues, only 26.9% of parents of teens who had guns in the home removed them, and 17.7% of those without guns in the home when the study began actually acquired them over a 2-year period.
"This means we need to think of better ways to talk to parents about this issue of removing guns from the home," Dr. Brent said. He thinks that addressing both parents on the issue is vital. Most often, a gun belongs to the father, but the physician is in touch only with the mother, who brings the teen in for treatment.
"Understanding the reason why people have guns, and negotiating about how to keep them in the home — in a less risky manner — may result in greater compliance and result in greater reduction in suicide risk," he added.
Changes in gun laws seem to bring lower rates of suicide by firearms, Dr. Brent said, although studies are not yet conclusive. A more restrictive firearms law enacted in Washington, DC, was followed by a 23% decline in suicide without a change in rates in the surrounding suburban counties, and without indication that other suicide methods were substituted for firearms. [/quote]
"There is a 30-fold increase in risk for suicide in adolescents if there is a gun in the home," the University of Pittsburgh's Dr. David A. Brent said at the Foundation for Suicide Prevention symposium held here this week. Dr. Brent is co-founder and director of services for Teens at Risk in Pennsylvania, a suicide prevention program. The risk exists for both male and female teens, he said.
Dr. Brent noted that the increases in the rates of youth suicide and suicide among young African-American men in recent years are primarily due to an increase in the rate of suicide by firearms. "In light of these findings, it would seem natural for clinicians to recommend that guns be removed from homes of all at-risk individuals, and that guns never be stored loaded, as they bestow an increased risk of suicide even to those without evidence of mental illness," he said.
In general, handguns seem to be associated with greater risk than long guns, and loaded guns present a higher risk than unloaded guns, but even locked guns convey a higher risk than no guns, Dr. Brent explained.
In one trial of depressed adolescents conducted by Dr. Brent and colleagues, only 26.9% of parents of teens who had guns in the home removed them, and 17.7% of those without guns in the home when the study began actually acquired them over a 2-year period.
"This means we need to think of better ways to talk to parents about this issue of removing guns from the home," Dr. Brent said. He thinks that addressing both parents on the issue is vital. Most often, a gun belongs to the father, but the physician is in touch only with the mother, who brings the teen in for treatment.
"Understanding the reason why people have guns, and negotiating about how to keep them in the home — in a less risky manner — may result in greater compliance and result in greater reduction in suicide risk," he added.
Changes in gun laws seem to bring lower rates of suicide by firearms, Dr. Brent said, although studies are not yet conclusive. A more restrictive firearms law enacted in Washington, DC, was followed by a 23% decline in suicide without a change in rates in the surrounding suburban counties, and without indication that other suicide methods were substituted for firearms. [/quote]