This is an update to a post from March of 2013. 
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Fueled by an increase in suicides, the U.S. rate of gun deaths has surpassed the rate of deaths from car accidents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
 
The CDC's Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database also shows the nation's gun death rate last year, 12.2 per 100,000 people, was the highest since 1996, when it was 12.8 per 100,000. Car deaths were 11.5 per 100,000 in 2017.
 
The public health database shows that 39,773 people died from firearms last year.
 
The previous yearly peak of 39,595 was set in 1993 at the height of a U.S. outbreak of firearm-related murder and suicide.
 
Nearly 60 percent of 2017 gun deaths were self-inflicted. And while the rate of gun homicides has fluctuated over the last decade, the rate of gun suicides has steadily increased.
 
Suffocation, such as hanging, and poisoning are the next most-frequent methods of suicide, the CDC says.
 
Experts say that in addition to mental health conditions and prior suicide attempts, other circumstances contributing to suicide include social and economic problems, access to lethal means (e.g., substances, firearms) among persons at risk, and poor coping and problem-solving skills.
 
In addressing the link between mental health and debt, CreditCards.com, an independent, advertising-supported comparison service, cites data showing the likelihood of having a mental health issue is three times higher among those who are in debt. The website also offers suggestions for how to rebuild financial stability.
 
In 2013, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper cited the number of suicides by firearm as he signed new gun  restrictions into law.
 
"However many homicides we have each year with handguns,  we have about 20 percent more suicides," he said. "That number drops  significantly when you have universal background checks."
 
I’m not sure where the governor got that figure, but it was NOT from the CDC.
 
- Dr. Gatling

     ​A state senator in New York has proposed that residents seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights may be disqualified for exercising their First Amendment rights.
      Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) has filed Senate Bill S9191 requiring handgun license applicants to provide internet log-ins so authorities could search three years worth of social media comments and search engine history.
      Parker says the bill would help keep firearms out of the hands of people who may be violent. The bill would apply both to applicants for new licenses as well as current licensees seeking to renew their five-year license term.
    New York already has some of the toughest handgun laws in the country. License applicants are already required to submit their criminal history, mental health history and offer character references. They must be at least 21 and cannot have felony or other serious convictions.
​     Buffalo News columnist Rod Watson writes there is strong opposition to the bill.
   The bill does not have a corresponding measure in New York's Assembly, the lower chamber of the legislature. No hearing has been scheduled on the measure.​
     Limiting gun violence is a noble cause. But which Amendment should come first?

- Dr. Gatling