More guns in homes tied to higher suicide rate in rural areas; red-flag laws more popular than most gun control

(Daily Yonder chart by Sarah Melotte; data from CDC)

The presence of a gun in rural homes is a significant factor in the number of firearm suicide deaths reports Sarah Melotte of The Daily Yonder, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "In 2020, the rural gun death rate was 28% higher than the urban rate. Nonmetropolitan counties reported 17.01 deaths per 100,000 residents, compared to a rate of 13.19 in urban America."

Because suicide is often impulsive, the ready availability of a gun and its usually quick effect make it a likely choice for suicide. Michael Siegel of the Tufts University School of Medicine told Melotte: "Because we know that guns are the most lethal means for suicide, if a gun is available, a suicide attempt is likely to result in a death. Whereas, if there aren’t guns around, other methods that people might use to attempt suicide are not as lethal."

To combat suicide, experts have suggested implementing mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases and red-flag laws, which may have more success in rural states because so many rural residents already own guns. "The specifics of red-flag laws vary from state to state and may go by a variety of different names," Melotte reports. "They allow law enforcement or concerned family members to petition a court to remove firearms from individuals deemed to be a threat to themselves or others."

While gun rights are a hot-button subject, interventions like red-flag laws have broader support than most gun-control measures: “Other than the NRA," Siegel told Melotte, "there’s really nobody who says that people who are known to be a risk to themselves or other people should have access to a gun.”