Hijacking tragedy to push gun control

It takes a real creep to use suicides to pump up the numbers.

The Coalition to Blame Everything on Guns (C-BEG)published an article last month. It was breathlessly entitled “The Truth About Gun Violence: Three Facts You Need to Know.”

The lurid subhead reads, “Sixty-seven people die by firearm suicide daily — more than the deadliest mass shooting in American history happening every single day.”

That’s mostly true; the actual figure is closer to 66.937, but 67 works.

Pretty horrifying, right?

But wait a minute! How many people kill themselves every day by some other means?

66. Or 65.512, if you prefer. That’s also more than the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Every single day.

In 2018, 38 people suffocated themselves every day. That’s more than any mass shooting except Las Vegas. Every single day.

Robin Williams died this way; so did Kate Spade. Perhaps C-BEG would have been more interested if they had used guns?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2018 Fatal Injury Report said that 48,334 Americans ended their own lives last year. 24,432 used a firearm of some sort; 23,912 found another way. The difference between the two is 520.