Pink Guns

As a part of the increased scrutiny that Komen for the Cure has been under the past couple of weeks, it turns out that while it was the pink Bibles and the anti-choice groups that hawk them that led them into the Planned Parenthood debacle, it was the realization that they were partnered with a hand gun company to make a pink gun that really got my goat. I do not have a problem with charities partnering with manufacturer's to raise money and awareness for their cause. I think it is a win-win situation. The effectiveness for Komen for the Cure has been phenomenal--they practically own the color pink. So that is a good thing. I also do not inherently object gun ownership as a choice. What I object to is an organization whose core mission is the health of women advocating hand gun ownership. Why do I object? Because owning a gun increases your risk of dying. There is a weighing of personal safety against risk of dying at the hand of your own gun--either by your own hand or by the hand of another--and unfortunately the later risk is greater. It has been shown time and time again, if you won a gun, you are 2-4 times more likely to die of suicide. If you are a veteran, the risk is 9 times greater. It is not that a gun makes you suicidal. It is that it presents a ready and effective means of killing yourself, should the urge come over you. There is a high association between alcohol intoxication and suicide--people get drunk, get morose, and think about killing themselves--if they have a gun, they have a way to accomplish that, even if sober they wouldn't have made that choice. Suicide is the 4th leading cause of death for people 18-65. Not quite the killer that breast cancer is, but up there. I know, guns don't kill people, people do,but guns do make it easier. So why would you want your name associated with something like that?