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Commentary - Fatal Combination: Guns and Depression
Author: Donna Holland Barnes
Originally Published In USA Today, January 2001 DOWNLOAD PDF
Gun-control advocates often forget one victum of gun violence the suicide. How many fatal, impulsive decisions have been aided by the presence of a handgun in the home? Too many, and African- Americans are doubly at risk, given their rising suicide rate and an appalling availability of handguns in their communities. Handguns are the leading method of self-destruction, accounting for 57% of the more than 31,000 U.S suicides in 1998. Homes with handguns are five times more likely to experience a suicide. Although suicide rates among minorities remain much lower than among whites, the African-American suicide rate has rison alarmingly, particularly among youths. From 1980 to 1995, the suicide rate among black men doubled; it now is the third-leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 15 and 24. Suicide is often an impulsive decision. In 1975, David H. Rosen interviewed people who attempted suicide by jumping from San Francisco's Gold Gate Birdge. Survivors said they changed thier minds before they hit the water. A handgun leavs far less chance for such a last-minute change of heart. Young black men who tend toward aggression and substance abuse are all the more susceptible to impulsive behavior. Couple that with a traume such as unemployment, blocked opportunity or a loved one's death - each all to common for African-American men - and the result can be despair and depression. These dark nights of the soul often can be overcome through some good talk therapy; but, trying to convince black men to "talk it out" is difficult. Not only do many blacks mistrust the health care system, but also a limited number of African-American health care providers are trained to treat suicidal behavior. What reason would an African-American family have for keeping a handgun in the house? Consider the rising rate of suicide among our young men, then think about makiung a gun available to someon who is depressed, isolated and impulsive. A gun in the house is likely to make him think he has a permanent answer: and sadly, he does. It's just not the right one. Donna Holland Barnes, a sociology professor at Southwest Texas State University, is president of the National Organizaiton of People of Color Against Suicide.
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