Some anti-gun-rights groups will try to argue that gun ownership somehow causes increased suicide rates. This is similar to the equally incorrect assertion that the presence of guns leads to crime. The fact is, those who are serious about committing suicide will do so, and many of them choose guns for a variety of practical reasons. Allow me to elaborate:
Gun ownership does not cause suicide
The mere presence of guns has not been shown to cause suicides, just as the mere presence of guns has not been shown to cause homicides. Instead, those who commit suicide suffer from mental issues, and if they could not gain access to a gun, they would use another means of committing suicide. Such is the case in countries such as Germany and Japan, where the suicide rate is considerably higher than the U.S., yet gun ownership is considerably lower. For those interested, the detailed statistics can be seen here.
People who use guns to commit suicide do so for practical reasons, not because the gun “made them do it.”
The people in the United States who choose to commit suicide use a gun about half the time. This is for the simple reason that guns are an effective way of ending human life. It is unfortunate and tragic that a person would turn a tool of self defense upon themselves, rather than using that tool to save their life from a criminal, however it is not the tool that made the person commit suicide. Nor it is justifiably to try to take away the gun ownership rights of non suicidal people such as this author, just because some people choose to misuse guns in that manner.
Sadly, some people from anti-gun-rights groups will attempt to bend the facts about suicides and guns in order to further their agendas. Hopefully this article has provided a brief overview of the fact. Those seeking a more in depth discussion, complete with stats, can look here.