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 Rope (courtesy outdoorxscape.co.uk)

“Contrary to what you might expect from all the recent news, accidental deaths from firearms have actually declined in recent years,” consumerreports.org reports. “But other deadly accidents at home, including poisonings, falls, and burns, are increasing . . . The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, looked at data from 2000 to 2008. More than 30,000 people die from accidents in the home each year, the study found. The three leading causes of accidental injuries were poisonings (43 percent), falls (34 percent), and fire or burn injuries (9 percent).” Firearms account for 1.1 percent. And while we’re at the AJPM, here’s a look at the suicide stats for the same time period . . .

The overall suicide rate increased from 10.4 to 12.1 per 100,000 population between 2000 and 2010, a 16% increase. The majority of the increase was attributable to suicide by hanging/suffocation (52%) and by poisoning (19%). Subgroup analysis showed: (1) suicide by hanging/suffocation increased by 104% among those aged 45–59 years and rose steadily in all age groups except those aged ≥70 years; (2) the largest increase in suicide by poisoning (85%) occurred among those aged 60–69 years; and (3) suicide by firearm decreased by 24% among those aged 15–24 years but increased by 22% among those aged 45–59 years. The case fatality rates for suicide by hanging/suffocation during 2000–2010 ranged from 69% to 84%, close to those for suicide by firearm. Analyses were conducted in 2012.

Clearly, it’s time to ban rope.

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21 COMMENTS

  1. I do wonder how many of those strangulation/hanging “suicides” were actually ‘tragic Bowflex accidents’.

    Also known as The David Carradine Experience®.

  2. We don’t have to ban all rope … we just have to ban high-capacity rope which can hold hundreds of pounds. No one needs high capacity rope. If someone wants to lift something weighing hundreds of pounds, they can use chain instead which is much safer than rope because the irregular shape of chain links greatly reduce its ability to strangle someone.

    We have to ban poisons and gravity as well.

    Wait, let’s just ban suicide. That should fix the problem. Because someone who is depressed enough to seriously consider ending their life will change their mind once they learn that suicide is banned.
    end_sarcasm

  3. If we’re looking for ridiculous ideas, banning poison might be the best. Why do civilians need nerve agents if the Army can’t even use them in war? If it saves even obe child, then maybe we can deal with an ant problem now and then.

    Better yet, have government training and certification for these deadly substances. Then you can call a true professional if you need a spider killed, and it will create more jobs.

      • No, what really needs to be done is that we need laws to tell us to:
        1. lock up all poisons to keep them out of the reach of children
        2. ensure that the poison and the container are dismantled and in separate containers.
        3. that the poison container shall have a locked installed on the cap
        4. that the size of the poison container shall be no more than 10 fl. oz. (7 fl. oz. for NY residents)
        5. that everyone who buys or sells poison should go through an FBI NICS check
        6. that former felons and those who have previously committed domestic violence and who are safe to be on the street should be barred access to these poisons because they are too tempting to be used as tools in crime.

        Does that sum up what should be done with these dangerous instruments of death?

  4. Just ban the bradys. No country needs more than 1 brady. No country needs assault bradys. Its for the children(& it really is this time). Ban the black thing that goes up & I need not elaborate here. There, that should do it, Randy

  5. The danger here is that there is almost no ridiculous suggestion we can make that might not someday become reality! While we might not see an actual rope ban, a background check and 10-day waiting period for a rope purchase is only common sense!

  6. How about we just ban death? That would solve all these problems. If you die, we put your corpse in prison until it rots.

  7. This is an idiotic article and false equivalence. You guys keep spitting out this garbage about how guns are completely innocent in America’s gun problem. Its astounding.

    The best part is how you make claims like its a mental health problem not a gun problem, and then when it comes time pass new healthcare legislation, you’re all opposed. Hilarious.

    Guns increase chance of suicide. Provide means.

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