National report on rural firearm deaths applies to South Dakota’s suicide crisis

By Todd Epp, Northern Plains News

South Dakota fits a rural-state risk profile outlined in a national public-health report published Nov. 3 aimed at reducing firearm deaths: states where suicide and household access drive most firearm fatalities, according to a consensus report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The report, “Toward a Safer World by 2040: The JAMA Summit Report on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms,” does not rank states or focus on a single law. It instead outlines strategies aimed at the most common pathways to firearm death and injury. Applying the report’s rural-state framework to South Dakota suggests prevention efforts should address suicide risk and in-home access, rather than strategies designed for places where street violence dominates.

Suicide drives South Dakota’s firearm deaths

Suicides account for 58.4 percent of firearm-related deaths in the United States, according to the JAMA report published Nov. 3. That emphasis matters for South Dakota, where 59 percent of the state’s 198 suicides in 2024 involved firearms—116 deaths—according to South Dakota Department of Health data. Over the last decade, 83 percent of gun deaths in South Dakota were suicides.

“Firearms are not a cause of violence but, because of their high lethality and ability to injure large numbers of people, result in serious harm when combined with violent acts,” the report states.

The report emphasizes evidence-based approaches, including safe storage, temporary separation during high-risk periods, and earlier intervention through health care and community supports.

Household and rural risk, not street violence

The JAMA report distinguishes rural and urban patterns of firearm harm, noting that in rural areas, firearm deaths and injuries more often occur inside the home or within personal networks, rather than in concentrated street-violence settings.

Applying that framework to South Dakota shifts attention toward household-level risk, including unsecured firearms, crisis periods linked to mental health or substance use, and high-stress moments tied to family or financial strain.

The report states that interventions centered on family-level decisions, community norms, and health-system engagement may be better matched to rural states than approaches that rely primarily on law enforcement responses.

What the report pushes, and what it does not

The JAMA Summit report does not call for broad firearm bans or mass confiscation.

“A safer world will require investing in the discovery, implementation, and scaling of solutions that reduce firearm harms and center on the people and communities most affected by firearm violence,” the report concludes.

The report frames firearm injury as a public-health problem influenced by access, timing, environment, and systems, similar to the way the United States reduced traffic deaths through layered prevention.

For South Dakota, applying the report’s findings suggests that reducing firearm deaths depends most on preventing suicides and lowering household risk, the two pathways that account for the largest share of firearm fatalities in rural states.