Simple way to stop 62% of all gun deaths

[kache]

Each pill could be tagged with a unique serial number, this could be a tiny RFID speck designed to lodge in the body and not be digested.

The chip could also be used to allert the nearest hospital asap, so organs can be harvested asap, while they can still be used. Win-win!

 

[DaveSimmons]

The chip could also be used to allert the nearest hospital asap, so organs can be harvested asap, while they can still be used. Win-win!

Good point. Even better, if assisting suicide was not illegal you could check in to a hospital to be euthanized in a way that lets all of your usable body parts be harvested to help others.

 

[HumblePie]

Good point. Even better, if assisting suicide was not illegal you could check in to a hospital to be euthanized in a way that lets all of your usable body parts be harvested to help others.

Gives new meaning to, "Quiting? Can I haz j0rz stuff?

 

[nageov3t]

in Israel, forcing soldiers to leave their guns at base when they were off-duty was shown to reduce suicide rates, though...

 

[blankslate]

A Suicide booth on every corner!

But what if someone mistakes it for an old school Phone booth?

 

[blankslate]

in Israel, forcing soldiers to leave their guns at base when they were off-duty was shown to reduce suicide rates, though...

"Facts" are not allowed in these forums

 

[glenn1]

They also define "children" as anyone under 21 (or something like that). So when they say 10 children day from guns each day, they really mean that 10 teenage gangbangers get shot and die every day.

It could be 1,000 teenage gangbangers a day and I wouldn't give a shit. When some cute white kids from the suburbs like Newtown get shot then let me know, otherwise let the ghetto dwellers have at it and do us all a favor by reducing their numbers.

 

[shortylickens]

It didnt work for Bender......

 

[basslover1]

But what if someone mistakes it for an old school Phone booth?

You'd be hard pressed to find an adolescent that knows what a land line is, and you think they'll confuse a "suicide booth" for phone booth?

 

[Engineer]

It is bullshit to include those suicides by gun in the statistics. What do I care if someone wants to off themselves? Ok I don't want people I love to do that, but I'm not going to make policy to prevent them from doing it, or blame the gun for them doing it. It's a convenient way for the gun control advocates to inflate their numbers by over 50%. That's ridiculous.

100% agree.

As for assisted suicides, every murderer in the country wouldn't plead the 5th or innocent, they would plead suicide assistant. Would need to be careful on that one (not that I mind, just don't want murderers to get away with murder by claiming to be a assistant to a suicide).

 

[DaveSimmons]

100% agree.

As for assisted suicides, every murderer in the country wouldn't plead the 5th or innocent, they would plead suicide assistant. Would need to be careful on that one (not that I mind, just don't want murderers to get away with murder by claiming to be a assistant to a suicide).

Of course, maybe even requiring a permit or certificate from classes before you can be issued your pillow.

 

[cybrsage]

Suicide is a form of murder - you are taking the life of a human being without due process (or without the use of a military drone), right?

Judaism does not believe suicide is murder, for murder is a sin committed against another human and God whereas suicide is a sin committed against yourself and God.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

You've probably seen the headline: "Gun Deaths Will Exceed Traffic Deaths in US by 2015"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...ths-to-exceed-traffic-fatalities-by-2015.html

The articles reference the Bloomberg report above, point out it's because traffic deaths are declining, and the reporter then says this is an argument for gun control.

But this part of the Bloomberg report caught my eye: "About 85 Americans are shot dead daily -- 53 of them suicides."

So here's a simple way to end this scourge of gun deaths: Make (edit: attempting and assisting with) suicide legal

Why should the government be able to impose its will on us by criminalizing suicide? Shouldn't whether to live or die be a personal choice, an individual right?

If people could pick up a "Killz U Dead" pill in the health section of their grocery store, or with 2-day free shipping from Amazon, they wouldn't need to use a gun.

If you are concerned that the pill could be used to commit murder, then either there could be prescription controls, or it could be distributed at end of life clinics that would also take care of the death certificate and any other paperwork.

It would be a cleaner, safer and more reliable way for them to end their life than using a gun without the risk of botching the job and ending up maimed.

I don't think you are understanding this situation. SUICIDES are CURRENTLY ILLEGAL. That means that suicides don't occur. Once put into law these acts cease to occur.


Or so I am told by Liberal Logic 101 (Patent Pending) :whiste:

 

[BladeVenom]

 

[randomrogue]

Suicide is already legal. Noone can stop you from doing it, and upon success noone can punish you for it.

Life insurance and benefits can punish your relatives.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Is assisted suicide no longer legal in Oregon?

EDIT: Wiki says that it only applies in cases of terminal illness. Don't know how I missed that detail all this time.

Life insurance and benefits can punish your relatives.

Oh the poor relatives unable to profit off the deaths of their family members.

 

[actuarial]

Life insurance and benefits can punish your relatives.

And that would (and should) continue whether suicide was legal or not.

Most insurance policies have a waiting period before they would pay out for a suicide (1-2 years). Without it the process to get insurance would be much more onerous, and insurance would be more expensive.

 

[PingSpike]

And that would (and should) continue whether suicide was legal or not.

Most insurance policies have a waiting period before they would pay out for a suicide (1-2 years). Without it the process to get insurance would be much more onerous, and insurance would be more expensive.

I was actually really surprised that my life insurance policy covered suicide at all, even with the waiting period.

 

[Throckmorton]

Assisted suicide is legal. It's called "hospice". They use morphine overdoses which is somehow makes it legal.

Not only that, but the Catholic Church supports hospice facilities, and somehow they have a good reputation among the public.

 

[SandEagle]

how about charge $5,000 a bullet? people would think twice before killing someone and suiciders wouldn't be able to afford to shoot themselves. win,win, win!

 

[actuarial]

I was actually really surprised that my life insurance policy covered suicide at all, even with the waiting period.

The way it currently is makes a lot of sense. I think the majority of suicides are due to someone having a mental illness, and as long as it is unknown at the time of issuance, or at least not known to be bad enough to lead to suicide short term, the principle behind life insurance still applies.

Obviously a waiting period is still needed to avoid the moral hazard associated with paying out for suicide, and if the applicant is known to have a mental illness which increases the chance of suicide their premiums are going to be higher if they are able to get credible statistics on the impact that illness has on the mortality table (which is going to include deaths due to suicide).

I imagine suicide payouts don't have a relatively large impact on total payouts, as the characteristics of people who commit suicide and those who purchase private life insurance will be fairly different.

 

[Throckmorton]

The way it currently is makes a lot of sense. I think the majority of suicides are due to someone having a mental illness, and as long as it is unknown at the time of issuance, or at least not known to be bad enough to lead to suicide short term, the principle behind life insurance still applies.

Obviously a waiting period is still needed to avoid the moral hazard associated with paying out for suicide, and if the applicant is known to have a mental illness which increases the chance of suicide their premiums are going to be higher if they are able to get credible statistics on the impact that illness has on the mortality table (which is going to include deaths due to suicide).

I imagine suicide payouts don't have a relatively large impact on total payouts, as the characteristics of people who commit suicide and those who purchase private life insurance will be fairly different.

I think the point of not covering suicide is so the insurance co isn't giving the customer an incentive kill himself for the payout to the family.

 

[actuarial]

I think the point of not covering suicide is so the insurance co isn't giving the customer an incentive kill himself for the payout to the family.

I agree that would be the point, but I imagine the number of people who kill themselves for the sake of the insurance money is far exceeded by the number of people who are killing themselves regardless of the insurance payout, and without it the family would be left with nothing.

Especially considering the waiting period, which means that it is likely that the people got the insurance policy prior to considering suicide, as if suicide is the only way out for your family financially things are going to fall apart long before that waiting period expires.

In summary: the current system is a very good middle ground.