Science Confirms The Obvious: Gun Laws Are Associated With Fewer Gun Deaths

[DanTex]

10. Not taken seriously by who? He's a Harvard professor with an extensive publication record.

The only people who don't take him seriously are the NRA, and that's not based on the quality of his research, just that they don't like his conclusions.

Also, I'm not talking about one paper by Hemenway. I'm talking about dozens of papers by a bunch of different authors. See below for a partial bibliography. Are you going to argue that none of those those authors are "taken seriously"?

Oh, and ignored my question. Can you quote a single expert on suicide who doesn't think that gun availability increases suicide risk? Well?

Brent DA. Firearms and suicide. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2001; 932:225-39. And see: http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/test4~id~513.php

Brent DA, Bridge J. Firearms Availability and Suicide: Evidence, interventions, and future directions. American Behavioral Scientist. 2003;Vol. 46(9):1192-1210.

Cummings P, Koepsell TD. Does owning a firearm increase or decrease the risk of death? JAMA. 1998 Aug 5;280(5):471-3.

Johnson RM, Coyne-Beasley T. Lethal means reduction: what have we learned? Current Opinion in Pediatrics. 2009; 21: 635–640.

This review article provides evidence regarding lethal means reduction as a suicide prevention strategy, especially through initiatives that reduce access to lethal means.

Florentine JB, Crane C. Suicide prevention by limiting access to methods: a review of theory and practice. Soc. Sci. Med. 2010; 70:1626–32.

Miller M, Azrael D, Barber C. Suicide mortality in the United States: The importance of attending to method in understanding population-level disparities in the burden of suicide. Annual Review of Public Health. 2012; 33:393-408.

This literature review examines the evidence that the proportion of all suicide attempts ending in a completed suicide (the case fatality ratio) accounts for a major portion of the variation in suicide mortality. In the US, the case fatality rate is strongly related to the prevalence of household firearms. Over twenty years of ecologic and individual-level studies support the hypothesis that reducing access to lethal means is an effective suicide prevention strategy.

Miller M, and Hemenway D. Gun prevalence and the risk of suicide: A review. Harvard Health Policy Review. 2001; 2:29-37.

Miller M, and Hemenway D. The relationship between firearms and suicide: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 1999; 4(1):59-75.

This article provides a detailed review of the most commonly cited, representative and thorough empirical studies relating to firearms and suicide, focused largely on the United States.

Sarchiapone M, Mandelli L, Iosue M, Andrisano C, Roy A. Controlling access to suicide means. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011;8(12):4550-62.

Yoder Slater G. The Missing Piece: A Sociological Autopsy of Firearm Suicide in the United States. SLTB 2011; 41(5):474–490.

Brent DA, Perper JA, Moritz G, Baugher M, Schweers J, Roth C. Firearms and adolescent suicide. A community case-control study. Am J of Diseases of Children. 1993;147(10):1066-71.

Brent DA, Baugher M, Bridge J, et al. (1999). Age- and sex-related risk factors for adolescent suicide. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 38, 1497-1505.

Brent DA, Perper JA, Allman CJ, et al. (1991). The presence and accessibility of firearms in the homes of adolescent suicides: a case-control study. JAMA, 266, 2989-2995.

Brent DA, Perper J, Moritz G, et al. (1993). Suicide in adolescents with no apparent psychopathology. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 32, 494-500.

Brent, D. A., Perper, J. A., Goldstein, C. E., Kolko, D. J., Allan, M. J., Allman, C. J., & Zelenak, J. P. Risk factors for adolescent suicide. A comparison of adolescent suicide victims with suicidal inpatients. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1988; 45:581-8.

Brent, DA. (1995). Risk factors for adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior: Mental and substance abuse disorders, family environmental factors, and life stress. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 1995; 25:52-63.

Brent DA, Baugher M, Bridge J, Chen T, Chiappetta L. Age- and sex-related risk factors for adolescent suicide. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999; 38(12):1497-505.

Conwell Y, Duberstein PR, Connor K, Eberly S, Cox C, Caine ED. Access to firearms and risk for suicide in middle-aged and older adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2002;10(4):407-16.

Dahlberg LL, Ikeda RM, Kresnow MJ. Guns in the home and risk of a violent death in the home: findings from a national study. Am J Epidemiol. 2004 Nov 15;160(10) 29-36.

Grassel KM, Wintemute GJ, Wright MA, Romero MP. Association between handgun purchase and mortality from firearm injury. Inj Prev. Inj Prev. 2003 Mar;9(1):48-52.

Grossman DC, Mueller BA, Riedy C, et al. (2005). Gun storage practices and risk of youth suicide and unintentional firearm injuries. JAMA, 293, 707-714.

Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Somes G, Reay DT, Francisco J, Banton JG, Prodzinski J, Fligner C, Hackman BB. Suicide in the home in relation to gun ownership. N Engl J Med. 1992 Aug 13;327(7):467-72.

Kung HC, Pearson JL, Liu X. Risk factors for male and female suicide decedents ages 15-64 in the US. Results from the 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2003;38(8):419-26.

Kung HC, Pearson JL, Wei R. Substance use, firearm availability, depressive symptoms, and mental health service utilization among white and African American suicide decedents aged 15 to 64 years. Ann Epidemiol. 2005 Sep;15(8):614-21.

Wiebe DJ. Homicide and suicide risks associated with firearms in the home: a national case-control study. Ann Emerg Med. 2003 Jun;41(6) 71-82. 1992 Aug 13;327(7):467-72.

Shah S, Hoffman RE, Wake L, Marine WM. Adolescent suicide and household access to firearms in Colorado: results of a case-control study. J Adolesc Health. 2000 Mar;26(3):157-63. Note: there has been one study (non-US) that has found no association between firearm prevalence and suicide rates: Beautrais AL, Joyce PR, Mulder RT. Access to firearms and the risk of suicide: a case control study. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1996 Dec;30(6) 41-8.

Birckmayer J, and Hemenway D. Suicide and gun prevalence: Are youth disproportionately affected? Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior. 2001; 31:303-310.

Hemenway D, and Miller M. The association of rates of household handgun ownership, lifetime major depression and serious suicidal thoughts with rates of suicide across US census regions. Injury Prevention. 2002; 8:313-16.

Miller M, Azrael D, and Hemenway D. Household frearm ownership levels and suicide across U.S. regions and states, 1988-1997. Epidemiology. 2002; 13:517-524.

Miller M, Hemenway D, and Azrael D. Firearms and suicide in the Northeast. Journal of Trauma. 2004; 57:626-632.

Miller M, Lippmann S, Azrael D, Hemenway D. Household firearm ownership and rates of suicide across the 50 US States. J Trauma. 2007; 62:1029-1034.

Shrira I and Christenfeld N. “Disentangling the Person and the Place as Explanations for Regional Differences in Suicide” Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 2010: 40(3).