I was a psychiatric nurse. I school, they taught to ask the patient if he wanted to kill himself. I thought that was stupid. If I really wanted to kill myself, would I tell the one person, who could stop me? I remember the first time I got a "yes" for that question. I could hear the determination in his voice, when he said, "yes". I knew if I let him out of my sight, he'd be dead. Once the decision is made to end it, they will do it. Usually, you can intervene, and the suicidal ideation will pass. Having a handy gun around doesn't aid the situation.