Study: 85 percent of Utah firearm deaths are suicides

A recent study says about 85 percent of all firearm deaths from 2006 to 2015 in Utah were the result of suicide.

The study, conducted by Harvard researchers and overseen by the Utah Department of Human Services, was presented to lawmakers Wednesday.

The report says firearms are used in about 50 percent of all Utah suicide deaths, and there is a fatality rate of 87 percent among those who attempt to take their life with a gun, making it the most lethal form of self-harm.

Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, says “the data firmly shows this (firearm suicides) is a public health issue.”

Eliason presented to lawmakers a new bill intended to financially incentivize Utah residents to purchase gun safes.

The Utah Legislature passed a law in 2012 instructing human services officials to examine data relating to the intersection of suicides and firearms.