Guns And Suicide

The Problem

Two-thirds of all gun deaths in the United States are from suicides, not homicide. Research from Harvard Injury Control Research Center’s Means Matter project shows that people who die from suicide are likelier to live in homes with guns than people who merely attempted suicide, and states with higher rates of gun ownership have higher rates of gun suicide.

The media focuses so much more on homicides than suicides by gun, which results in a misperception in just how big the problem of guns and suicide is.

The Solution

Challenge a friend (or multiple friends) for the entire school day to draw two concentric circles on their left hand and one circle on their right hand every hour (they can also do this on a piece of paper, if they don't want to write on their hands). At the end of the day, reveal that the circles, which look like targets, actually represent the 2:1 gun deaths from suicide over homicide. Using that “a-ha” moment, have a conversation with your friends about guns and whether guns keep them safe in the home.

If you want to go above and beyond, with your friends, collect signatures on a petition to advocate for accessible mental health resources at school.