And African-Americans are doubly at risk, given their rising suicide rate and an appalling availability of handguns in their communities. Homes with handguns are five times more likely to experience a suicide. Although suicide rates among minorities remain much lower than among whites, the African-American suicide rate has risen alarmingly, particularly among youths.
Suicide is often an impulsive decision.
In 1975, David H. Rosen interviewed people who attempted suicide by jumping from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Survivors said they changed their minds before they hit the water. A handgun leaves far less chance for such a last-minute change of heart. Young black men who tend toward aggression and substance abuse are all the more susceptible to impulsive behavior. Couple that with a trauma such as unemployment, blocked opportunity or a loved one's death each all too common for African-American men and the result can be despair and depression.