Editorial board

The Republic | azcentral.com

Let's add a few facts to the gun debate.

Suicides accounted for 638 of the 910 gun deaths in Arizona in 2012, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Homicides came in a distant second at 246.

That same year, a total of 747 people died of motor-vehicle-related injuries.

Gun deaths have exceeded the number of motor-vehicle deaths in Arizona every year since 2009.

Firearm deaths by suicide have far exceeded gun homicides each year for the past decade.

This blows a big hole in the argument that gun ownership keeps people safer.

The relationship between guns and suicide should be part of the discussion the next time gun-rights advocates push the Legislature to further loosen rules on guns. So should the sheer number of gun deaths.

The Violence Policy Center did a nationwide comparison and found that Arizona was one of 14 states where more people died by guns than vehicle accidents.

"Firearms are the only consumer product in America not regulated by the federal government for health and safety," the center said in releasing the data.

Sure. We know all about the Second Amendment. But no right is absolute. Common-sense gun regulations do not infringe on gun ownership.

Our state has some of the least-restrictive gun laws in the nation. But there's little evidence that a quick-draw citizenry is effective in fighting crime.

There is evidence, however, that an alarming number of people are killing themselves with guns. Nationwide, suicide by firearm ranked fourth among causes of injury death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Homicide by firearm ranked fifth.

That gives a chilling new meaning to the old saying about prying the gun from somebody's cold, dead fingers.

These sad statistics need to be part of the discussion.