Deterrents may be of little help to impede suicide

Michael Measday, Las Vegas

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun’s Monday story, “Conceived for its beauty, Hoover Dam bridge could pose suicide danger”:

Ever wonder what’s wrong with this country? Here’s one example: Alan “Lanny” Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology, contends that the builder of the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial bridge is more concerned with “aesthetics than human life.”

You see, by not putting up a deterrent for those bent on ending their lives, the builder is irresponsible. I’ve lost a dear friend to suicide, and not once did I blame the gun that ripped his head apart.

I didn’t blame the matches or gasoline that another friend in my life used to attempt to end his life.

Oftentimes friends and family are left wondering what they missed or what they could have done. Sometimes the answer is simple: nothing. Some people are beyond being helped. They will find a way to accomplish their goal.

The idea that “you’re going to save lives if you take away the ability to get off that bridge” is misguided. I could come up with a study that says the opposite. This is the beauty of numbers and a study with a preconceived outcome. Common sense is dead and it was no suicide — we killed it.