This post is second in a series aimed at identifying and exploring some of the public health issues and policies under consideration by candidates in the 2020 Presidential Election.
Read moreStaying in Their Lane: Health Professionals Must Address Gun Violence [from the Hastings Bioethics Forum]
In the wake of the recent Twitter fight between the National Rifle Association and U.S. physician groups over whether doctors should speak out about firearm policy issues, we argue that professionalism actually requires that doctors take a leadership role in gun policy debates, even if (in fact, especially if) doing so is politically fraught and financially harmful to them.
Read morePhysicians and Firearms: Finding a Duty to Talk to Patients About Guns [from Bill of Health]
Florida enacted a statute in 2011 entitled the “Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act,” which quickly became known nationwide as simply the “Docs v. Glocks” law.
Read moreMotivated by increasing numbers of "deaths of despair," the AMA adopts new policies aimed at reducing gun violence
Earlier this week the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates held their annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois, during which delegates voted to adopt multiple policies related to firearms and gun violence. Some of these policies reinforce and enhance policy positions the AMA has supported for years, while other policies offer specific recommendations for legislation that is currently under consideration at the state and federal levels.
Read moreThe Promising Potential of Gun Violence Protection Orders
While mass shootings account for just a small fraction of the more than 36,000 lives lost to firearms in the United States every year, these devastating, large-scale events have become not only more frequent but also deadlier in recent years.
Read moreLet's Get Fewer People to Die (from Northeastern Law Magazine)
Guns were never a part of my life. In the Massachusetts suburb where I grew up, my family did not go target shooting for sport and did not keep guns in the home for protection.
Read moreSmart Gun Technology and the Potential to Save Lives
In the 1970s, a California man designed a magnetic lock that could be installed in the revolvers used by law enforcement, rendering the gun inoperable unless the user was wearing a special ring with an opposing magnet. This device, designed so that someone who grabbed a police officer’s gun would not be able to turn that gun back on the officer, represented the first “smart gun” technology (and can still be purchased today for a mere $420).
Read moreRecent Study Shows Stronger Firearms Laws Associated with Fewer Fatal Shootings by Police
In 2015 and 2016, at least 2239 people were killed by police in the United States, overwhelmingly by gunshot. But a recent study shows that fatal shootings by police are half as common in states with stricter firearms laws than in those with the most permissive laws.
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