Objective: The objectives of this dissertation were to estimate the overall burden of suicides among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals, including health disparities between LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ individuals. Methods: Quantitative surveillance data from 2015 to 2022 from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) were analyzed. This analysis included victims aged 10 years and older who died by suicide between 2015-2022 in 50 states and Washington, D.C. Descriptive analyses were conducted for victim and incident characteristics and precipitating circumstances. Victim characteristics included age (years), sex and gender identity, race/ethnicity, education level, and relationship status; incident characteristics included the mechanism of injury and the location where the victim was injured. Precipitating circumstances were those that were thought to have contributed to the death. Additionally, county-level data from the County Health Rankings were merged with NVDRS to examine structural and community-level predictors of suicide risk. Bivariate logistic regression and multivariate Poisson regression were conducted to examine predictive associations between variables and LGBTQ+ status. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR), incidence rate ratios (IRR), and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: Among 290,373 suicide victims from 2015-2022, 4,009 (1.4%) were identified as sexual or gender minority (SGM). LGBTQ+ individuals tended to be younger than non-LGBTQ+ individuals. Additionally, the most common method of injury of LGBTQ+ decedents was hanging, strangulation, or suffocation, followed by firearm vs. firearm, followed by hanging, strangulation, or suffocation in the comparison group. LGBTQ+ persons who died by suicide had significantly higher odds of almost all circumstances commonly contributing to suicide, including. current diagnosed mental health problem (AOR=2.02, 95% CI=1.90, 2.16), ever treated for mental health/substance use (AOR=1.89, 95% CI=1.78, 2.02), history of self-harm (AOR=2.44, 95% CI=2.11, 2.82), and school problem (AOR=2.13, 95% CI= 1.80, 2.52). Lastly, the incidence rate ratios were significantly different for structural and community-level predictors at the county level among LGBTQ+ suicide decedents. Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals identifying as Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM) are more prone to face multiple, intricate factors that lead to suicide. Consequently, suicide prevention strategies need to focus on identifying and mitigating the underlying circumstances that increase risk in SGM groups. Recognizing the structural and community hurdles linked to suicide among SGM persons should guide the creation of targeted interventions that address these specific issues. Additionally, support systems- covering mental health, substance use, and medical care- must be carefully designed to prevent reinforcing existing biases, which could unintentionally worsen the conditions that heighten suicide risk.