Research Summary Firearm Suicide

Notice : The information contained in this document is considered accurate the date of publication. The information has not been updated to reflect any changes to the Firearms Act and related regulations.

What Are the Statistics on Firearm Suicide?

* In 1994, there were a total of 1,199 deaths involving firearms in Canada. Over the past decade, suicides accounted for about 80% of all firearm deaths. [1]

* In 1994, there were a total of 3,749 suicides in Canada and of these, 26% (973) involved firearms. Firearm suicides as a proportion of total suicides has remained relatively constant at about 30% over the past 10 years.[2]

* From 1990 to 1992 inclusive, the average firearm suicide rate per 100,000 population was 3.8 in Canada,[3] compared to 7.3 in the United States. [4]

What Does the Research Tell Us about Suicide and Suicide Committed with Firearms? [5]

Who commits suicide?

* Almost four times as many males as females commit suicide annually. Men are more likely than women to use firearms to commit suicide.[6]

* A disproportionate number of young men (age 20-24) and elderly men (80+) commit suicide, with firearms and other means. Although adolescents (age 15-19) commit suicide at a lower rate than many other age groups, the suicide rate for this age group has doubled since 1970.[7]

How do firearms differ from other methods of attempting suicide?

* Research indicates that firearms are more lethal than other methods used to attempt suicide. In the context of research on homicide, given an attack, firearms are more likely to result in serious injury and death than if another weapon is used.[8] Firearm attacks are about three times more likely to result in death than knife attacks and many times more likely to be lethal than attacks involving other methods. [9]

* Limited research has been done on the lethality of different methods used in suicide attempts. Card found that firearms are the most lethal method of suicide attempts. Kellermann et al. found that 15% of attempted suicides involved firearms compared to 60% of completed suicides. [10]

What are the characteristics of suicide?

* There appears to be a broad spectrum of suicidal behaviour, ranging from suicidal thoughts to carefully planned acts of self-destruction.[11] Research suggests that many suicides tend to be impulsive acts, often precipitated by stressful life events and facilitated by alcohol or drugs.[12]Studies of youth suicide are consistent with this research indicating that many attempts, as well as completed suicides, can be characterised as impulsive. [13]

* Further, the research suggests that suicide attempters use methods that are readily available. Case studies have shown that firearms used in suicides tended to be readily available - the victim either owned the firearm or borrowed it. [14] Firearms are rarely obtained specifically for the purpose of committing suicide. [15]

* Case-control studies have found that firearms were more likely to have been present in the homes of suicide victims than in the homes of suicide attempters, psychiatric inpatients, or other control subjects.[16] In one such study, it was found that firearms were twice as likely to have been present in the homes of suicide victims than in homes of suicide attempters and the control group. [17]

What type of firearms are used in firearm suicide?

* A report prepared for the Department of Justice provided information on the type of firearm - handguns or long guns - used by suicide victims. In the two jurisdictions for which data were available - Ontario and Manitoba - long guns were consistently the weapon of choice in firearm suicides.[18]

* The final report of the Firearms Smuggling Work Group included statistical information on all firearms recovered in one year by ten police agencies across the country. A total of 264 recovered firearms were involved in attempted and completed suicide, of which 80% were long guns. [19]

What Are the Effects of Canadian Gun Control Laws on Suicide Rates?

* Few studies have been conducted on the impact of the 1977 Canadian firearms legislation - the first major firearms legislation in Canada.

* Rich et al. analyzed suicide rates and methods in Toronto and Ontario for five years before and after the enactment of the 1977 gun control legislation. [20] It was concluded that gun control legislation may have led to a decreased use of guns by suicidal men, but the difference was apparently offset by an increase in suicide by other "immediately fatal" suicide methods.[21]

* Lester and Leenaars examined data on rates of suicide and firearm suicide for an eight year period before and after the passage of the 1977 firearms legislation to assess its association with suicide rates. [22] The authors concluded that there was a significant decreasing trend after the passage of the legislation on the firearm suicide rate in Canada and firearm suicides as a percentage of all suicides.

* Research on the impact of the 1977 legislation conducted by Carrington and Moyer in Ontario concluded that there was a decrease in levels over time of firearm and total suicide rates with no indication of substitution of other methods. [23]

* The Department of Justice undertook a sophisticated statistical analysis of the 1977 legislation to assess the effects of the initiative on the incidence of firearms deaths. [24] The exploratory and time series analyses suggested that the legislation has had a positive impact on the reduction of firearm suicides in Canada while the structural analysis did not. Independent assessments of the study conducted by academics suggested that the inclusion of different variables in the suicide analysis may have yielded a different result.

What Do We Know about Firearm Suicide from International Research?

* National and international studies have explored the extent to which the availability [25] of firearms and suicide rates are statistically associated.[26]Firearms research has been conducted across various disciplines and diverse methodologies have been employed.

* Based on studies reviewed in a Departmental research report, it was clear that countries or jurisdictions with higher firearm ownership levels had higher rates of firearm suicides than those with lower ownership levels. [27]

* The same review of the literature also found that overall suicide rates were affected by firearm availability, although this relationship was not as clear as it was with firearm suicide. [28]

* An exploratory research study undertaken by the Department of Justice Canada which reviewed firearms regulations and statistics in selected countries,[29] suggested that those with the most stringent firearms regulations have the lowest firearm and overall suicide rates. Consistent with the methodological limitation identified above, although correlations were observed, the research did not control for possible intervening variables.

How Is the Canadian Firearms Legislation Designed to Address Firearm Suicide?

* A Firearms Acquisition Certificate is currently required to acquire firearms. Applicants must complete a form which includes information regarding personal history and references. Through the screening process, the applicant may be refused if it is deemed "desirable in the interest of the safety of the applicant or any other person that the applicant should not acquire a firearm". [30] Under the new licensing system, the level of screening required will be determined by whether the applicant is applying to possess or to acquire firearms. All applicants will at minimum be subject to a basic level of screening and will be required to renew their licence every five years.

* Legislative requirements on safe handling and storage currently exist for firearms businesses and individual gun owners. These provisions are intended to regulate specific activities where the unsafe storage or handling of a firearm may present a safety risk. In addition, they are intended to reduce the risk of theft and to make firearms less accessible to persons in the household who may present a risk to themselves or others. Enhanced standards will be set out in the regulations to support the new Firearms Act.

* The Canadian Firearms Safety Course has been developed as a standard, national course so that potential firearm owners are familiar with the laws and regulations pertaining to the possession, transfer, transportation, storage and safe use of firearms - the focus is on safety, including the ethical responsibilities of firearm owners and users. Persons wishing to acquire firearms are required to complete the course. The course will be enhanced under the new legislation.

* Universal registration is an important feature of the new Firearms Act. Registration of all firearms will serve to enhance the accountability of firearm owners and thereby promote safer storage of firearms. Also, knowledge of who owns firearms will facilitate removal of firearms in situations in whichthe possessor is at risk of misuse. Knowledge of who owns firearms can also facilitate efforts to inform firearm owners of their obligations under the legislation, including safe storage regulations.

* Prohibition orders (i.e., court orders preventing a person from having access to, possessing, or having control of a firearm or ammunition or explosive substance for a specified period of time) can be invoked on persons if it is deemed that their safety or the safety of the public could be threatened by acquisition of a firearm. In cases where firearms are in the individual's possession, prohibition orders provide for their removal.

* Police powers to search and seize firearms allows for intervention in situations of danger. In a case where a person is in possession of a firearm and the police have reasonable grounds to believe a person's safety is at risk, they have the authority to search and seize firearms with or without a warrant, depending on the circumstances. The removal of firearms from someone who poses a threat to themselves could potentially avert suicides.

[1] Statistics Canada, Causes of Death.

[2] Statistics Canada, Causes of Death.

[3] Statistics Canada, Causes of Death.

[4] U.S. National Centre for Health Statistics. The Vital Statistics of the U.S. Annuals.

[5] For a comprehensive review of the literature refer to Gabor, 1994, The Impact of the Availability of Firearms on Violent Crime, Suicide, and Accidental Death, Department of Justice Canada.

[6] Statistics Canada, Causes of Death; Moyer and Carrington, 1992; Chapdelaine et al. 1991; Snowdon and Harrison, 1992; Taylor and Wicks, 1980 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[7] Health Canada, Suicide in Canada Update of the Report of the Task Force on Suicide in Canada, 1994.

[8] Gabor, 1994.

[9] Kellermann et al., 1991; Block, 1977; Zimring, 1968; Reiss and Roth, 1993 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[10] Card, 1994; Kellermann, 1991 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[11] Brent et al., 1988 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[12] Moyer and Carrington, 1992; Kimberly et al., 1991; Peterson et al., 1985; Brent et al., 1988; Kost-Grant, 1983 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[13] Chapdelaine et al. 1991; Hawton, 1986; Poteet, 1987; Tonkin, 1984; Greuling and DeBlassie, 1980; Hawton, 1986 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[14] Poteet, 1987; Browning, 1974; Kellermann et al., 1992 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[15] Gabor, 1994.

[16] Gabor, 1994.

[17] Brent et al., 1991 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[18] Moyer and Carrington, 1992, Gun Availability and Firearms Suicide. Department of Justice Canada.

[19] The Illegal Movement of Firearms in Canada. Report of the Firearms Smuggling Work Group, May 1995, Department of Justice Canada.

[20] Rich et al., 1990, "Guns and Suicide: Possible Effects of Some Specific Legislation". American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 342-346.

[21] Before concluding that the number of guns in a society is associated with crime levels, it is generally accepted in the research community that a reduction in crime, both with and without firearms, should be demonstrated. This is to ensure that "displacement" or "substitution" has not occurred.

[22] Lester and Leenaars, 1993, "Suicide Rates in Canada Before and After Tightening Firearms Control Laws", Psychological Reports, 72, 791-810.

[23] Carrington and Moyer, 1994, "Gun Control and Suicide in Ontario", American Journal of Psychiatry, 151:4, 606-608.

[24] Department of Justice Canada, 1996, A Statistical Analysis of the Impacts of the 1977 Firearms Control Legislation.

[25] "Availability" refers to the extent of gun ownership in a country.

[26] An increase in suicide rates accompanying higher levels of firearm ownership, over time and across jurisdictions, would be suggestive of an impact of availability. Such a positive correlation, of course, would not demonstrate a causal relationship as many other factors could be linked to both ownership levels and suicides.

[27] Farmer & Rohde, 1980; Killias, 1993; Markush & Bartoluc, 1984; Boor, 1981; Boyd, 1983; Boyd & Mowcicki, 1986; Clarke & Jones, 1989; Lester, 1990; Lester, 1989; Lester, 1988; Wintemute, 1987; Sloan et al, 1990; Moyer & Carrington, 1992; Dudley et al., 1992; Cantor & Lewin, 1990 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[28] Farmer & Rohde, 1980: Killias, 1993; Markush & Bartoluc, 1984; Boor, 1981; Boyd, 1983; Boyd & Mowcicki, 1986; Moyer & Carrington, 1992; Dudley et. al., 1992 cited in Gabor, 1994.

[29] Department of Justice Canada , 1995, A Review of Firearms Statistics and Regulations in Selected Countries.

[30] Criminal Code, section 106(5).