When news of California becoming the fifth state to adopt the right to die legislation had reached me, I thought about the legislation, which gives terminally-ill patients the option of doctor assisted suicide, and had an epiphany.

Apparently, God forgives suicide. According to Catholic and Christian doctrines, Christ allowed himself to be put to death.

Opponents condemn Gov. Brown’s historic act of mercy for the terminally ill, arguing that these patients who suffer with chronic pain will end their lives sooner.

Yet, these opponents defend gun ownership rights, and are silent about guns being used to commit the most suicides, even outnumbering gun murders.

Sixty-five percent of gun deaths in the U.S. in 2013 were a result of gun suicides, according to figures reported by Gun Policy, a web source that publishes evidence on armed violence, firearm law and gun control.

In regards to violent deaths, in 2012 the second-most common cause of death for people between ages 15 to 34 was gun suicides, according to a The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Eating a bullet has its rewards. Though it’s less dignified, a critic isn’t around to object due to fear of eating a bullet too.

The military isn’t immune to this ancient rite of passage.

Between 2000 and 2010, nearly 180,000 veterans and non-veterans, both male and female, committed suicide, according to the Veterans Affairs Department.

The families of those who’d decided to end their lives find themselves in a paradox.

In rural Cheyenne County, a 53-year-old woman reached a plea deal on charges of helping her 61-year-old husband commit suicide, according to Nebraska Radio Network.

Years ago, a colleague offered me a job with an outside company. After taking the weekend to think about it, by Monday morning I’d discovered that he had committed suicide. I never took the job.

Another critic who opposed self-murder was the Greek philosopher Socrates who said:

“A man, who is one of the god’s possessions, should not kill himself ‘until the god sends some compulsion upon him, as he sends compulsion on us at present.’”

In the end, Socrates had received his compulsion and ended his life by drinking hemlock, a poison.

Apostasy is an age-old adage that will haunt humans until the grim reaper comes around .

When my calling comes, I hope I’m not terminally ill and suffering with chronic pain.

Like Brown, I don’t know what I’d actually do.

But, because the right to die is my right and is finally backed by a gutsy California law, I am comforted knowing that figures like Dr. Jack Kevorkian will be there to assist me with checking out , if I choose the right to do so.