APA Joins Other Physician Groups to Demand Action on Gun Violence

In the aftermath of Wednesday’s shooting that killed 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., APA and four organizations representing 450,000 physicians and medical students called on President Donald Trump and Congress to take meaningful action against gun violence.

Joining with APA were the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Physicians.

“Gun violence is a public health epidemic that is growing in frequency and lethality, and it is taking a toll on our patients,” the groups said in a statement released today. “We urge our national leaders to recognize in this moment what the medical community has long understood: we must treat this epidemic no differently than we would any other pervasive threat to public health. We must identify the causes and take evidence-based approaches to prevent future suffering.”

The groups have asked the president and Congress to take the following actions:

• Label violence caused by the use of guns a national public health epidemic.
• Fund appropriate research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the FY 2018 omnibus spending package.
• Establish constitutionally appropriate restrictions on the manufacture and sale, for civilian use, of large-capacity magazines and firearms with features designed to increase their rapid and extended killing capacity.

While mass shootings attract much attention from the public and the media, the groups noted that current policies regarding access to guns in this country expose Americans daily to the risks of violent acts including suicide, homicide, and unintentional injury.

“The families of the victims in Parkland and all those whose lives have been impacted by daily acts of gun violence deserve more than our thoughts and prayers. They need action from the highest levels of our government to stop this epidemic of gun violence now,” the statement concluded.

(Image: iStock/izzzy71)

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