Would banning firearms reduce murder and suicide? A review of international and some domestic evidence

Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Spring, 2007 by Don B. Kates, Gary Mauser

(147.) See Ruth H. Haynes, Suicide in Fiji: A Preliminary Study, 145 BRIT. J. PSYCHIATRY 433 (1984).

(148.) Id. at 437. More or less the same situation seems to prevail in the substantially Indian-populated nation of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). It "has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.... Suicides are especially frequent among young adults, both male and female. Compared to the U.S., the suicide rate for males ages 15 to 24 years in Sri Lanka is nearly four times greater; the female rate nearly 13 times greater. The most common mode of suicide is ingestion of liquid pesticides." Lawrence R. Berger, Suicides and Pesticides in Sri Lanka, 78 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 826 (1988) (emphasis added).

(149.) (1) Those who propose to change the status quo bear the burden of proving that change is a good idea; (2) those who propose a new policy bear the burden of proving that the policy is a good idea; and (3) in a free society those who propose to abolish a personal liberty passionately valued by millions bear the burden of proving that abolishment is a good idea.

(150.) Brandon S. Centerwall, Author's Response to "Invited Commentary: Common Wisdom and Plain Truth," 134 AM. J. EPIDEMIOLOGY 1264, 1264 (1991).

DON B. KATES * AND GARY MAUSER **

* Don B. Kates (LL.B., Yale, 1966) is an American criminologist and constitutional lawyer associated with the Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco. He may be contacted at dbkates@earthlink.net; 360-666-2688; 22608 N.E. 269th Ave., Battle Ground, WA 98604.

** Gary Mauser (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1970) is a Canadian criminologist and university professor at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Canada. He may be contacted at www.garymauser.net, mauser@sfu.ca, and 604-291-3652. We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of Professor Thomas B. Cole (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Social Medicine and Epidemiology); Chief Superintendent Colin Greenwood (West Yorkshire Constabulary, ret.); C.B. Kates; Abigail Kohn (University of Sydney, Law); David B. Kopel (Independence Institute); Professor Timothy D. Lytton (Albany Law School); Professor William Alex Pridemore (University of Oklahoma, Sociology); Professor Randolph Roth (Ohio State University, History); Professor Thomas Velk (McGill University, Economics and Chairman of the North American Studies Program); Professor Robert Weisberg (Stanford Law School); and John Whitley (University of Adelaide, Economics). Any merits of this paper reflect their advice and contributions; errors are entirely ours.