Tighter gun laws may lead to fewer suicides

Monthly firearm background checks have been recorded in every US state since 1998, making it possible to explore whether changes in the availability of firearms in a state are related to its suicide rate. This relationship has been difficult to research in the past, as the fraction of suicides using firearms are a commonly used measure of firearms. Matthew Lang finds that increases in state background checks are associated with slight increases in the total suicide rate, suggesting that the increased availability of particular suicide method can lead to more suicides.