Each year an estimated thirty thousand Americans commit suicide.

Several years ago, the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center profiled those individuals at greatest risk for suicide as elderly white males with either symptoms or a medical diagnosis of depression, who have made previous attempts at suicide, who have recently experienced acute stressful life events, and who have few resources, friends, or relatives to draw on for support.

Studies have shown that the most common methods of committing suicide in the United States involve the use of firearms or explosives. The next most frequent methods are hanging, carbon monoxide, and jumping. In the case of men, the second most prevalent method involves hanging (including strangulation or suffocation); for women, it is poisoning by gas or liquids. A gun in the house, particularly a loaded gun, appears to increase the risk for completed suicide, even in those individuals without other...