Laws that remove firearms from those considered a safety risk reduce gun-related suicides, study finds

Will gun reform happen? 00:33 (CNN)As more states consider passing "red-flag" laws that would let authorities temporarily seize guns from people deemed a risk to themselves or society, a new study suggests the laws might have prevented some firearms-related suicides. The University of Indianapolis study focuses on the two states that have had red-flag laws the longest: Indiana (since 2005) and Connecticut (since 1999). The study, published in the June 2018 issue of Pyschiatric Services , found that Indiana’s gun-related suicide rate was 7.5% lower in the 10 years after the law was enacted (2005-2015), compared to what would have been expected without the law. More than 5,100 people killed themselves with a firearm in Indiana during those 10 years after the law took effect. But the statistical analysis shows the law may have prevented an additional 383 suicides by gun, according to the study, led by Aaron Kivisto, an assistant professor of clinical psychology. Connecticut also demonstrated a drop, especially after 2007, when Connecticut authorities stepped up enforcement of the law following a mass shooting at Virginia Tech that year, the study says. The study found Connecticut’s gun-related suicide rate dropped 1.6% in the first few years after its law passed in 1999, relative to what would have been expected without it. But the drop was more pronounced — 13.7% — from 2007, when Connecticut authorities started using the law more often — to 2015. Connecticut and Indiana were the first states to enact red-flag gun laws , […]

Click here to view original web page at Laws that remove firearms from those considered a safety risk reduce gun-related suicides, study finds