Suicide Isn’t a Gun Problem — It’s a Crisis of Untreated Pain: What New CDC Data Means for Responsible Gun Owners

The newest CDC suicide data is out, and the results are sobering: firearm suicide reached its highest number ever recorded in 2023. Johns Hopkins reports that suicide accounts for nearly 60% of all firearm deaths, and the CDC confirms that this trend shows no sign of slowing.

For many in the firearms community—those who legally own, train, and carry guns for personal and family protection—this data challenges us to look deeper. We buy guns to protect our loved ones from danger. But as new information shows, the greatest threat may not come from outside the home.

The truth is simple: guns don’t cause suicide. Untreated despair, pain, isolation, and crisis do. Firearms don’t create suicidal thoughts—but because they are highly lethal, they can turn a temporary moment of suffering into a permanent tragedy.

This article explores the real drivers of suicide, the risk factors every gun owner should understand, and how the firearms community can protect our families from danger within—even as misguided laws and licensing policies make early treatment harder to seek.

Throughout this article, you’ll find internal links to related NY Safe Inc. resources, including:

The New Suicide Data: What the CDC and Johns Hopkins Say

The latest suicide report reveals three major points:

Firearm suicide is at a record high.
Suicide accounts for the majority of all U.S. gun deaths.
Crisis, not firearms, is the underlying cause.

These findings echo what mental-health and suicide-prevention experts have been saying for years:

“Suicidal crises are often brief, and survivors almost always recover.”

Studies show nearly 50% of people who attempt suicide decide within 10 minutes of the attempt. Another well-established fact: 90% of people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide.

This means something critically important:

If the gun community helps people survive their worst 10 minutes, we will save lives.

And as we discuss below, we must be allowed to do this proactively—not punished for seeking help.

Risk Factors: Who Is More at Risk?

Gun owners are already familiar with situational awareness. We watch for danger outside—crime trends, neighborhood shifts, political uncertainty. But when it comes to suicide risk, the dangers are more subtle and internal.

Here are the groups at elevated risk, according to the CDC and multiple suicide-prevention organizations:

1. People experiencing untreated depression or anxiety

Mental-health conditions are the most common underlying drivers of suicidal thoughts. Untreated anxiety, trauma, and stress accumulate silently.

2. People facing major life stressors

Divorce or relationship conflict
Financial pressure
Job loss or career instability
Legal issues
Chronic pain or medical diagnoses

3. Gun owners who fear losing their rights

This is where public policy becomes part of the problem. In restrictive states like New York, many gun owners fear seeking help because:

They may be forced to report treatment to licensing authorities.
They could have their firearms confiscated for months or years.
They could lose their carry license—even if no danger exists.

This fear leads to silence and avoidance—two of the biggest risk escalators.

4. First responders, police, veterans, and corrections officers

These groups experience trauma at higher rates, yet face the strongest professional stigma for seeking counseling. Many worry that treatment means losing their weapon or being placed on leave.

5. Teens and young adults

Firearm suicides among teens have risen sharply in the last decade. Adolescents often act impulsively, feel isolated, and hide emotional pain.

6. People with substance use challenges

Alcohol misuse is a major predictor of suicidal behavior. A drunk decision can escalate a crisis in seconds.

How to Identify Someone Who Needs Help

Your family knows you best—and you know them best. Suicide prevention begins long before crisis. Look for:

Emotional warning signs

Hopelessness
Sudden anger or irritability
Feeling like a burden
Extreme mood swings
Persistent anxiety

Behavioral warning signs

Withdrawing from family or friends
Giving away possessions
Talking about death or “not being here anymore”
Increased use of alcohol or drugs
Sudden calmness after a long depression

Situational warning signs

Recent loss of a job, relationship, or loved one
Legal problems
Financial crisis
Health diagnosis

If you see several of these signs, it’s time to take proactive steps. This is not about judgment—it’s about protection.

This is the same mindset we teach in our NY Safe Concealed Carry Classes: understand the threat before it becomes unmanageable.

Safe Storage: Everyday Best Practices

Responsible firearm storage is part of the 2A culture. For everyday circumstances:

Store firearms locked in a secure safe.
Keep ammunition locked separately if desired.
Avoid leaving firearms unsecured or accessible to unauthorized users.
Store keys and combinations in controlled locations.
Regularly review your storage setup with family members.

But in homes with elevated risk—or even early-stage concern—standard procedures are not enough. This is where strategy and responsibility go hand-in-hand.

Safe Storage During a Mental-Health Crisis: What Gun Owners Can Do

When you suspect someone in your home may be struggling—or you yourself are—special precautions must be taken. These are not political positions. They are life-saving, pro-family, pro-responsibility strategies.

1. Increase time and distance

Because most suicide attempts are impulsive, slowing access saves lives. Consider:

Storing firearms in a safe in a separate part of the home
Locking ammo separately or offsite
Using safes that require multiple steps to open

2. Change your safe combination—without telling anyone in the home

One of the most powerful steps is also the simplest:

Have someone you trust come over and change the combination or passcode to your safe, and do NOT share the new code until the crisis passes.

This works because:

Your family likely knows your phone PIN.
Your spouse or teen may know your usual safe combination patterns.
People in crisis will search for access—often successfully.

Let your trusted person keep the new combination sealed, written on paper, or stored digitally until the danger is over. This preserves your rights while protecting your family.

3. Consider temporary offsite storage (where legal)

In New York, you cannot hand firearms to a friend without creating an unlicensed-possession felony for them. However, you can:

Store unregulated firearm parts like barrels unloaded and locked in a safe-deposit box.
Store firearms at a licensed FFL dealer offering storage (if available).

What you should NOT do in NY:

Voluntarily bring your guns to the police “for safety.”

This triggers an investigation, license suspension, and often years-long storage with no guaranteed return timeline. This fear of punishment is exactly why early intervention becomes so difficult under current laws.

4. Remove ammunition from the home during high-risk moments

This reduces lethality dramatically and is often easier than relocating a safe or long gun.

5. Communicate with family

You are not taking away anyone’s rights. You are protecting their life.

The Policy Problem: Laws That Discourage Treatment

Here is where pro-2A voices must speak loudly: people are dying because they are afraid to seek help.

New York, California, New Jersey, and other restrictive states often require:

Self-reporting of mental-health treatment
Disclosure of controlled-substance prescriptions
Reporting of therapy visits to licensing bureaus

This means gun owners who are simply looking for support during stressful times are forced to consider:

“If I get help, will I lose everything?”

This is not public safety. This is policy failure.

As we argued in Denied by ZIP Code: The Reality of NY’s Broken Gun Laws, New York frequently punishes the responsible while ignoring the root issues.

The same failed mindset that criminalizes self-defense, as we examined in The Queens Self-Defense Tragedy NY Doesn’t Want to Admit, also criminalizes mental-health honesty.

You cannot prevent suicide by scaring people away from therapy.

A Pro-2A Model for Suicide Prevention

The firearms community is uniquely positioned to save lives—not by giving up our rights, but by using those rights responsibly and compassionately.

Our solutions are simple:

Encourage mental-health check-ins among friends and family
Normalize seeking help—especially among gun owners and first responders
Use secure and flexible storage strategies
Remove or delay access during high-risk moments
Fight for laws that protect privacy and encourage treatment

This protective mindset is the same philosophy behind the training we provide in our NY Safe 18-Hour Concealed Carry Classes.

We train people to defend themselves—and sometimes that defense means protecting someone from their own temporary despair.

FAQ: Firearm Suicide, Mental Health, and Responsible Gun Ownership

Q: Does the CDC say guns cause suicide?

No. The CDC attributes suicide to mental-health struggles, stress, isolation, and crises—not firearms.

Q: Why are firearm suicides so lethal?

Because firearms work instantly. Other methods are far less lethal. Survival leads to treatment, which is why slowing access matters.

Q: Will asking for mental-health help get my guns taken away?

In some states, it can trigger investigations or licensing actions. This is why reform is urgently needed.

Q: How do I talk to a loved one who may be in crisis?

Use calm, non-judgmental language. Ask directly, “Are you feeling overwhelmed?” Avoid minimizing their feelings.

Q: What storage method is best during a crisis?

Have a trusted person change your safe combination and keep the new code until the crisis is over.

Q: Can I give my guns to a friend for safekeeping?

In New York: No. That would be unlicensed possession. Check your state laws.

Q: What if I am the one struggling?

Consider proactive safety steps before a crisis: safe combination changes, ammo removal, offsite storage (where legal), and talking with someone you trust.

Q: How can the 2A community help reduce suicides without sacrificing rights?

By promoting early treatment, reducing stigma, educating gun owners, and pushing for legal reforms that protect—not punish—those who seek help.

Conclusion: Protecting Your Family Means Protecting Their Mental Health

Firearms do not cause suicide. Crisis does.

If we want to save lives—and protect the people we love—the solution is not taking rights away. The solution is empowering gun owners with the information, tools, and freedom they need to intervene early.

We can protect our families from danger inside the home just as effectively as we prepare for threats outside the home. But only if our laws stop punishing people for seeking help.

The Second Amendment community is strong, resilient, and deeply committed to protecting our families. It’s time the conversation reflects that truth.

To learn more or to build the skills needed to defend your family in every scenario, sign up for a NY Safe Concealed Carry Class.

Education saves lives. Responsibility saves lives. And the gun community is ready to lead the way.

NY Safe

See Full Bio

Categories:

Uncategorized

Tags:

No Tag

Firearm Suicide: A Crisis of Untreated Pain, Not Guns