WE MUST ADDRESS OUR GUN SUICIDE PROBLEM
New data from the CDC shows an increase in suicide rates.
Washington, DC (November 29, 2018) — New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows an increase in the age-adjusted suicide rate for 2017. The report, released today, showed that from 1999 through 2017, the age-adjusted suicide rate increased 33 percent (from 10.5 to 14.0 per 100,000). The increase is consistent across all demographics.
Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence Director of Public Health Research Adelyn Allchin issued the following statement:
“Suicide — especially firearm suicide — is a public health crisis. Though today’s report does not discuss suicide methods, we know that half of all suicide deaths involve guns, and guns are the most frequently used method of suicide.
“As we consider how to reverse this trend, we must focus on the means by which people die by suicide. We cannot effectively prevent suicide without addressing access to firearms. We know these deaths are preventable, and we have the policy tools — like extreme risk laws — to stop gun suicide. It is up to lawmakers across the country to pass and implement these life-saving policies.”
