Thread by @merlemassie, So we have a new incoming Chief Firearms officer in Saskatchewan. It [...]

So we have a new incoming Chief Firearms officer in Saskatchewan. It seems the right time to discuss policy advocacy that this office *must* include: the relationship between firearms and suicide. A thread, and a tough one.
https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2020/july/28/chief-firearms-officer">https://www.saskatchewan.ca/governmen...

First: I come to my perspective by way of personal pain. My brother was a firearm suicide. The impact of his choice reverberated through my family. It is a terrible, nightmare path. And he was the *classic* case: a decision bourne of impulse, with easy access.

We grew up in a hunting, trapping family. We all went from pellet gun to .22 to shotgun to rifle, with hunter& #39;s safety training and the healthiest of respect, care, training and Dad& #39;s admonitions for safety. Guns were/are a tool, we respected them, did not abuse.

My family took gun ownership seriously, and when gun registration came around, Dad and my brothers found it unnecessary and a ridiculous liberal intervention. But, complied. Grumpily, but eventually.

With that background established, setting my family firmly within the realm of & #39;law-abiding gun owners& #39;, let& #39;s switch gears. Question: do you know the statistics around the connection between guns and suicide? Well if you are a gun advocate, you should. So here you go.

About 80% of firearms deaths in Canada are gun suicides.
Start with that fact, walk around with it, hold it in your heart.
About 80% of firearms deaths are gun suicides. By, no doubt, law abiding gun owners like my brother.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/wd98_4-dt98_4/p4.html">https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr...

Men are 4x more likely than women to commit suicide, and 13x more likely to use a gun. That situates the gun-suicide connection firmly as a serious issue for Canadian men. It cannot be ignored.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/wd98_4-dt98_4/p4.html">https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr...

There is something called proximal risk factors, including "relative availability of culturally-acceptable lethal means of committing suicide." One of those, of course, is gun ownership.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/wd98_4-dt98_4/p4.html">https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr...

The fatality rate for a gun suicide is north of 80%. In other words, it is not an option which allows for intervention, treatment, saving. It is overwhelmingly lethal. There is no proverbial second chance.

Proximal household risk looks like this: Suicides involving a firearm occur at a higher rate in households in rural and Indigenous communities, where (as was the case in my own family), hunting and trapping correlate to a higher availability of guns.

However in Canada, research indicates that gun registry/restrictions have little beneficial effect on reducing gun suicides -- (though they *have* gone down in the last 50 years.) That& #39;s not where I& #39;m going with this thread, if you& #39;re yelling at me. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7302582/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...

Effect of firearms legislation on suicide and homicide in Canada from 1981 to 2016

Canada implemented a series of laws regulating firearms including background and psychological screening, licensing, and training in the years 1991, 1994, and 2001. The effects of this legislation on...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7302582/

(Remember: thousands of studies comparing gun suicide Canada/USA showcase that clearly, gun availability, gun culture, and gun access are a huge factor. I refuse to minimize that basic, and obvious, comparison.)

Gun suicides are linked clearly to income, to outside factors of loss and adversity, to impulse and to proximity. It& #39;s complex.

To add another dimension, there has been an increased focus on issues of mental health supports in rural and Indigenous communities. Foundations such as @domoreag have done tremendous work to advocate and fight against stigma, raise awareness and promote change. It& #39;s critical.

Tristen Durocher and @walkingwithour1 deliberately and courageously raised specific awareness of the suicide crisis in Indigenous communities and more particularly northern Saskatchewan. It& #39;s heartbreaking.

So my question is this: how can we, in good conscience, advocate for an increased focus on mental health issues, (which includes suicide as the ultimate terrible end result of mental illness) -- without *also* formally acknowledging the role of guns?

About one quarter of Canadian suicides are gun suicide. But, recent research suggests that those who choose a gun are doing so as a result of an acute crisis, not a chronic crisis. Not lengthy illness, but sudden. Impulsive. And, lethal. Intervention is difficult.

So what& #39;s my point? The whole conversation about gun ownership, registry, provincial political attitudes, law-abiding gun ownership, regulations, liberal bashing -- whatever. I don& #39;t really care where you stand on any of that. Hire a pro-gun Chief Firearms Officer. Sure.

But make damned sure that it becomes part of his mandate to face, head on, the *very clear* the role of guns in lethal suicides. Do not sidestep, prevaricate or pretend that& #39;s a minor side issue and only for those who are seriously ill.
* It. Is. Not.*

If we have a Chief Firearms Officer with an office that does not produce policy and a massive advocacy campaign that deliberately tackles gun suicide as a crucial part of its mandate, then the office is a political sham.

In the end, responsible gun ownership ALSO must include a clear recognition that gun suicide is real, it& #39;s lethal, and it must be addressed head on *by the community that advocates for guns*. Which includes me. So here is my voice. Where is yours?

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