In the United States alone, in one 12-​month period, over 18,000 people shot themselves to death.

How many of these were spur-​of-​the-​moment acts that might not have been carried out if a gun had not been available in a purse or a dresser drawer cannot be determined. Surely, however, the ready access prevented some victims from having sufficient time to think rationally and perhaps save their lives.

“The rise in suicides by young people in 1988,” wrote one newspaper, “can be linked in part to easier access to guns as more homeowners stockpile weapons to protect their residences, police said. . . . If you have a weapon in the house, there’s just a chance a kid is going to get to it someday.”