Ben Padleckas
1 min readAug 26, 2019

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I cant cite a specific reason as to why we have similar or lower suicide rates compared to other countries (and by ‘lower’, the US still sits in the top 50 countries with worst suicide rate). This could be caused by a number of different factors including better access to mental health services, better economic opportunities, cultural differences. cultural stigmas in the U.S. against suicide, etc. That being said, bringing this question of the mental and emotional responsibilities gun ownership into the debate could lead to the U.S. suicide rate to decrease. Studies have shown that most suicide attempts are impulsive in nature. They are usually undertaken by people who are feeling even more depressed then the usual due to an unusually stressful situation occurring in their life, or the current natural chemical imbalance in the brain being further skewed due to a release of related chemicals. That being said, studies have shown that if an individual survives the suicide attempt, they are significantly less likely to attempt suicide again. Therefore, if guns were removed from the situation the suicide rate in the U.S. should decrease theoretically. This is because suicide attempts by firearms are significantly more fatal then other means of suicide. This reduces the chances of the individual being able to make a comeback from suicide and recovering from that dark place.

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Ben Padleckas
Ben Padleckas

Written by Ben Padleckas

Graduate Student in International Security, Political Junky, History Buff, Star Wars Fan.

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