National Medical Groups Call for Action to Reduce Firearm Injury
as Federal Assault Weapons Ban is Set to Expire
Click here for full copy of the statement

Washington, DC, Sept. 7, 2004-With the 1994 federal assault weapons ban set to expire next week, 13 national medical and health organizations are urging all candidates for public office to take immediate action to reduce gun death and injury. The groups sent their consensus statement, which includes a call for strengthening the ban, to President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry last week. To date, neither campaign has responded.

Physicians and medical groups are calling for action because they view gun violence as an ongoing homeland security problem. The U.S. gun death rate far exceeds rates in all other wealthy countries; nearly 30,000 Americans die from gun injuries every year. The annual cost of gun violence is estimated at $100 billion.

The consensus statement asks for a comprehensive plan to reduce gun injuries, claiming that ending the firearm injury epidemic should be "among the leading imperatives of our time, along with access to health care, economic policy, environmental protection and, indeed, terrorism and the war in Iraq."

"We are calling on President Bush, Senator Kerry and members of Congress to address gun-related injury as a public health priority," said Michael McCally, MD, PhD, president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. "While the U.S. focuses its resources on possible terror attacks from unnamed enemies, thousands of Americans are dying from gunshot wounds."

"Allowing the assault weapons ban to expire is a step in the wrong direction," said Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, and founder of the HELP Network in Chicago. "Gun injury remains a critical public health problem. Most national medical societies agree on how to prevent these injuries-by reducing access to guns."*

Charles Francis, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, and Carden Johnston, MD, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, emphasized that adults and children of all ages are at risk. Dr. Francis stated, "We need a comprehensive national plan and localized plans for reducing gun violence. Most homicides, suicides and domestic violence deaths in the United States involve guns, causing untold suffering for victims and their families."

Physicians say they are ready to work with policymakers in developing prevention strategies, and that the pending expiration of the assault weapons ban, despite overwhelming public support for extending it, is a symptom of a much larger problem: Policymakers have been unable or unwilling to effectively address the public health toll of gun injuries in America.

Dr. Johnston said it is absolutely unacceptable that an average of eight American children are killed by firearms every day-nearly 3,000 children and youth each year. "Sadly, pediatricians see far too many children who are disabled or die from gun injuries," commented Dr. Johnston. "Guns should not be in places where children live and play."

*Dr. Christoffel's article in the June issue of Injury Prevention outlined the broad consensus on guns among 14 national medical societies. Call the HELP Network at 773-880-3826 for more information.
Longjohn MM, Christoffel KK. Are medical societies developing a standard for gun injury prevention?
Injury Prevention June 2004;10(3):169-73.

Reporters interested in interviewing physicians may contact:
Marjorie Tharp, American Academy of Pediatrics, 202-347-8600 x 3003
Arinn Dixon Widmayer, Doctors Against Handgun Injury, 202-232-3319
Dianne Saenz, Physicians for Social Responsibility, 202-667-4260, x 215
Martha Witwer, The HELP Network, 773-880-3826

Medical Groups Presenting the Statement Include:

Ambulatory Pediatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, American Association of Suicidology, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, American College of Preventive Medicin, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Women's Association, American Public Health Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Medical Association

Additional quotes from medical leaders:
"We must provide the resources necessary to prevent guns from being acquired by those determined to injure or kill others," said Joseph Wright, MD, MPH, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention. Dr. Wright has treated many gunshot victims and is part of the Children's National Medical Center team that responded to one of the DC area sniper victims.

Amy Sisley, MD, MPH, a trauma surgeon at University of Maryland Medical Center, said, "U.S. costs from gun injuries, including medical care, lost productivity and other social costs, are estimated at $100 billion per year. Apathy is not an option. We want to prevent these horrific injuries. The broad consensus among health professionals and the general public must not be ignored."

"The availability of guns in homes greatly increases the likelihood of injury and death. Parents should ask about the presence of guns in homes where children play. Doctors can help save lives by identifying patients at risk and asking about guns in the home," said Jeremiah Barondess, MD, Founder of Doctors Against Handgun Injury, based at the New York Academy of Medicine. "57% of U.S. gun deaths are suicides. Especially among teenagers, suicide is often an impulsive act."

National medical groups, individual physicians and health leaders signatories include:

Ambulatory Pediatric Association
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
American Association of Suicidology
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Physicians
American College of Preventive Medicine
American College of Surgeons
American Medical Women's Association
American Public Health Association
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Medical Association

Jeremiah Barondess, M.D., Founder,
Doctors Against Handgun Injury
President, The New York Academy of Medicine

Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, M.D., M.P.H., Founder and Board President
The HELP Network
Professor of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine
The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

Michael McCally, M.D., Ph.D., President
Physicians for Social Responsibility

Robert K. Musil, Ph.D., M.P.H., Executive Director and CEO
Physicians for Social Responsibility

Günter Blobel
Nobel Laureate, Physiology and Medicine 1999

Barry R. Bloom, Dean
Harvard School of Public Health

G. Clarkson, M.D. Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean
University of Miami School of Medicine
Glenn Craig Davis, M.D, Dean
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

J. Kevin Dorsey, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean and Provost
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

E. Nigel Harris, M.D.
Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Morehouse School of Medicine

Stanley Lemeshow, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Public Health
Director, Center for Biostatistics
The Ohio State University

William D. Phillips
Nobel Laureate, Physics 1997

Allan Rosenfield, M.D., Dean
Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University

Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H., Dean
UCLA School of Public Health

Larry J. Shapiro, M.D.
Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor
Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs and Dean
Washington University School of Medicine

Stephen M. Shortell, Ph.D., M.P.H., Dean
University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health
Alfred Sommer, Dean
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Patricia W. Wahl, Ph.D., Dean
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Professor of Biostatistics
University of Washington

Zane Robinson Wolf, Ph.D. R.N., Dean
LaSalle University School of Nursing

Facts about Gun Injury in the United States

In 2001, there were 29,573 firearm-related deaths in the United States (up 3% from 2000), including 16,869 (57%) suicides, 11,671 (39%) homicides (including 323 deaths due to legal intervention/war), and 1,033 (3%) undetermined/unintentional firearm deaths.

CDC/National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 52, No. 3, September18, 2003, p.71.

In 2001, 2,937 U.S. children and teenagers died of firearm injuries. This includes 1,797 homicides (including 26 deaths due to legal intervention), 928 suicides, and 212 unintentional and undetermined shootings. Every day in America, an average of eight children and youth aged 19 and younger die from gunshot wounds (5 homicides and 3 suicides).

CDC/National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 50, No. 16, September 16, 2002

In the United States in 2001, 56% of all homicides and 55% of all suicides resulted from the use of a firearm.

CDC/National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 52, No. 3, September18, 2003, p. 41.

Firearm injuries are the second leading cause of injury-related death in the United States (after motor vehicle crashes), and have killed more than 28,000 Americans every year since 1972.

CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, 2003.

Gun deaths appear to be rising again, after a 7-year decline from 1993 through 2000.

*preliminary data; final data will be available from CDC in fall 2004.
Data Sources: NCHS Annual Mortality Tapes for numbers of deaths. Bureau of Census for population estimates. Nonfatal injuries are estimated based on injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments.

The rate of death from firearms in the United States is eight times higher than the rates in other countries of similar economic status.

In the United States, more than 16 cases of nonfatal, unintentional gunshot injuries occur for every unintentional shooting death. Nonfatal firearm assaults outnumber gun homicides by a ratio of 4:1. In contrast, firearm suicide attempts result in death in about 85% of cases.

Kellermann AL and Waeckerle JF. Preventing Firearm Injuries. Ann Emerg Med July 1998; 32:77-79.

From HELP Network fact sheets. See www.helpnetwork.org