Reply #3: Sounds about right - If I lived in a state with many homicides, I would buy more guns too.

[jmg257]

But since they spent money on this study, re: suicides:

1) "the hypothesis {is} that the availability of lethal means increases the rate of completed suicide." (well - duh!)

2) "A positive and significant association exists between levels of household firearm ownership and rates of firearm and overall suicide"

Well, OK...
BUT!!!...

3) "rates of nonfirearm suicide were not associated with levels of household firearm ownership"...

4) which means just and ONLY this: rates of firearm suicide were associated with levels of household firearm ownership (well - duh! again)


So - guns are lethal, and effective in killing one's self. And, imagine this!!!...gun-related suicide is associated with gun-related households.

Go figure - guns can be lethal - in fact, their lethality is one reason I own them - they would be useless for defense otherwise, no?


And as often happens, when there are elevated levels of homicides/violence, many people seem to buy guns (for defense I imagine). Cause vs effect?