An ER Doctor’s Cure for America’s Gun Epidemic

In 2020, while the Covid-19 pandemic raged, a steadily increasing epidemic continued to pain its way crossed the United States. Gun unit stole the lives of 45,222 Americans that fateful year, the worst twelvemonth connected grounds for weapon deaths to that point.

The way starring to each 1 of these deaths is layered and complex. Each American killed by a bullet, each household grieving their loved one, deserves their ain book. I ne'er erstwhile thought that I would beryllium 1 to constitute specified a story.

I’m a gun-owning exigency physician, a father, and the relative of a antheral who was changeable to death. If it wasn’t for the National Rifle Association declaring successful 2018 that physicians, similar me, should “stay successful their lane” and support quiescent astir the toll of this plague, I wouldn’t person written astir this subject. Yet weapon unit consumes my life. I spot victims of weapon unit from household tragedies—children, adolescents, and adults—almost each day.

Addressing unit and decease is the work of anyone who has ever had to mend the wounds of a gunshot victim, to effort heroic measures successful the trauma bay, to meticulously attraction for the injured successful the intensive attraction unit, oregon admit decision successful beforehand of their loved ones. I person recovered nary worse feeling than having to archer a parent oregon a begetter that their kid has been killed by a bullet. We person practiced and perfected evidence-based medicine for decades. We should likewise signifier evidence-based wellness policy. As it pertains to guns, immoderate of that grounds already exists.

As a physician, I recognize the limitations of science. The champion research, astatine slightest successful the biomedical sphere, usually requires the findings of randomized objective trials, but moving those for policymaking often isn’t feasible. In nationalist health, the adjacent champion enactment is simply a earthy experiment, successful which 1 jurisdiction implements a argumentation and a similar, adjacent jurisdiction does not, and argumentation makers tin observe the difference.

The RAND Corporation’s The Science of Gun Policy—a synthesis of probe into US weapon policy—typically relies connected these types of studies to pass its analysis. It is sometimes inconclusive, sometimes weak, sometimes beardown successful its assertions astir the impacts of assorted policies that mightiness interaction lives successful this epidemic of weapon violence, but wide its investigation describes myriad argumentation levers that our existent lawmakers could, and successful my sentiment should, swiftly instrumentality astatine the federal, state, and section levels. The grounds states that we tin prevention lives done the following:

• Background checks done national firearms licensed dealers for each firearms purchase
• Licenses and permits for individuals who privation to bargain guns
• Raising the minimum property for each firearm purchases to 21
• Strong kid entree prevention laws
• Brief waiting periods
• Domestic unit restraining orders that necessitate the relinquishing of existing firearms.

But I besides judge determination are 2 further laws that should beryllium repealed. Their beingness successful nine should alarm physicians, advocates, and the radical who constitute the laws.

Policy Prescription #1: Reverse Stand-Your-Ground Laws

On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, a Black kid my tallness and with a akin build, was walking done a vicinity successful Sanford, Florida, aft purchasing a container of Skittles and a drink. He was fundamentally stalked by the skipper of a section vicinity ticker patrol. Following an altercation—one that a 911 dispatcher urged the overly zealous vicinity watchman to avoid—Martin laic connected the ground, changeable dormant by a azygous slug that traversed his bosom and lung.

All of that young man’s hopes and dreams of 1 time becoming an aviator were struck down by a antheral who would yet beryllium acquitted of execution due to the fact that of Florida’s stand-your-ground statute that created a civilization of approach, provoke, and kill. Stand your crushed surely contributed to the young boy’s death.