Suicide Prevention Month: The Gun Violence Story We Don't Talk About Enough
Every September, Suicide Prevention Month gives us a chance to break the silence around suicide, challenge stigma, and remind people that help exists. But one piece of that conversation rarely gets the attention it deserves: the deep connection between suicide and gun violence.
When most people hear "gun violence," they picture mass shootings or homicides on the news. Rarely do they picture a person alone, in crisis, reaching for a firearm in their own home. Yet that scenario is the most common form of gun death in America — and it's exactly why suicide prevention has to be part of any serious conversation about gun violence prevention.
Why Firearms Matter So Much in Suicide
Firearms are both the most common and the most lethal method of suicide in the United States. In 2024, 48,824 people died by suicide which was a 1% decrease from 2023. However, 2.2 million people attempted suicide which is 1.5 times increase from that of 2023 — not only did suicide attempts increase but the use of firearms accounting for deaths by suicide increased from 55% in 2023 to 57% in 2024. Since 2020, the firearm suicide rate has increased by 13% reaching an all time high in the most recently released statistics for 2024.
What makes firearms so dangerous in a mental health crisis isn't just their availability — it's their finality. Most suicide attempts, even serious ones, are survivable. Firearm attempts almost never are. That's why the strategies that save lives here look different from other prevention efforts: safe storage, waiting periods, and other measures that simply buy more time. Suicidal crises are often acute and short-lived. Creating distance between a person in crisis and a firearm — even if only briefly or temporarily — can be the difference between a passing crisis and an irreversible loss.
Prevention Starts with Safe Storage
Here's the part that often gets lost: gun suicide is preventable. Research consistently shows that communities with fewer firearms in circulation have lower suicide rates overall. A few practices make a measurable difference:
Store firearms safely. Locked, unloaded, with ammunition kept separately.
Consider temporary transfer. Moving firearms to a trusted person or storage facility during a crisis can save a life.
Invest in education. Programs like CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means) train firearm retailers, shooting ranges, healthcare providers, and policymakers to recognize risk and guide people toward safer storage, waiting periods, Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and other proven interventions.
It Takes a Community
Suicide prevention advocates, gun violence prevention groups, and healthcare providers are ultimately working toward the same goal: keeping people alive. That means the work goes further when these groups collaborate — partnering with firearm retailers, shooting ranges, and veteran organizations to spread safe storage practices and share crisis resources widely. It also means advocating for policy that does two things at once: encourages responsible gun ownership and expands access to mental health care.
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A Shared Responsibility
Protecting people from gun violence has to include protecting people from themselves in moments of crisis. That's something everyone can act on — by storing firearms safely, talking openly about mental health instead of around it, and knowing where to point someone toward help, like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Suicide prevention and gun violence prevention aren't two separate causes. They're two sides of the same effort to keep the people we love safe. This Suicide Prevention Month, let's make sure the conversation includes both sides – suicide and gun violence prevention.
National Crisis Resources
Psychiatric or mental health emergency: Call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call or text 988.
Crisis Resources Across Virginia
Arlington County 24 hr. Crisis Center: 703-228-5160
Chesterfield County 24 hr. Crisis Center: 804-748-6356
Culpeper County Crisis Center: 540-825-5656
Fairfax-Falls Church Community Service Board: 703-559-3000
Fairfax County 24 hr. Crisis Center: 703-573-5679, TTY 711
Henrico County 24 hr. Crisis Center: 804-727-8484
Loudoun County 24 hr. Crisis Center: 703-777-0320
Prince William County 24 hr. Crisis Center: 703-527-4077, or text CONNECT to 85511
Walk-in:
Manassas office: 703-792-7800
Woodbridge office: 703-792-4900
Rappahannock-Rapidan 24 hr. Crisis Center: 540-825-5656
Youth Crisis Hotline
2-1-1 Website: https://councilofcommunityservices.org/
Veteran Crisis Resources
Department of Veterans Affairs — National Call Center: free 24/7 access to trained counselors for local resources. Website: https://www.va.gov/homeless/nationalcallcenter.asp Phone: 877-424-3838 (text messaging accepted)
References
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2026
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2026
Kassabian, S., Gissen, M., & Kenny, J. (2024). Reducing death by suicide by addressing well-being and firearm access: A both/and policy approach. Families, Systems, & Health, 42(4), 651–655. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000943
Lemle, R. B. (2024). Bridging the sociopolitical divide: Transforming efforts to prevent firearm suicide. American Psychologist, 79(9), 1361–1375. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001426
Nordeen, J., Durham, C., Sumpter, A., & Thompson, S. (2024). An analysis of gun violence: Beliefs, perceptions, and personal experiences. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 30(4), 553–557. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000774
Runyan, C. W., Brown, T. L., & Brooks-Russell, A. (2015). Preventing the invisible plague of firearm suicide. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 85(3), 221–224. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000065
Wamser-Nanney, R. (2021). Understanding gun violence: Factors associated with beliefs regarding guns, gun policies, and gun violence. Psychology of Violence, 11(4), 349–353. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000392
Weissinger, G., Myhre, K., Ruan-Iu, L., Van Fossen, C., & Diamond, G. (2023). Adolescent suicide risk, firearm access, and family functioning: Screening in primary care. Families, Systems, & Health, 41(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000680
Zabelski, S., Jameson, J. P., Peters, A., Sellers, C. M., Montanaro, E., Besse, S., & Cramer, R. J. (2025). Addressing firearm suicide prevention practice through recommendations for Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM). Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000639
