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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Is it certain that gun owners are more likely to use their gun to commit suicide than in self-defense?

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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Ambiguities in data collection cast uncertainty on whether gun use for suicide or self-defense is more likely.

There is a wide range of estimates of gun use for self-defense, from under 2,000 to 2.5 million incidents annually. These figures vary based on a given data-collecting organization's methodology. The Gun Violence Archive—which has cataloged under 2,000 annual incidents several times in recent years—only counts incidents that are "significant enough" to be verified by law enforcement, while the 2.5 million figure, derived from a 1995 study by criminologists Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, relies on self-reported incidents.

The number of annual firearm suicides—measured by the Centers for Disease Control and the University of Washington—range between a low of 19,392 in 2010 and 24,975 in 2017. The number of firearm suicides has trended upward over the past decade.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Gun Violence Archive Methodology

Educational Fund To Prevent Firearm Suicide Firearm deaths in the US, 2010-2019

Our World in Data Number of suicide deaths from firearms

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.