By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Volunteers for the Safer Homes suicide prevention program in the Northwest spoke with gun owners at the Washington Arms Collectors gun show last fall. (Dave Workman)
Clinging to the notion that so-called “gun violence” is a public health issue, the American Medical Association (AMA) recently adopted what CNN called “a series of sweeping policies aimed at preventing gun violence,” but a couple of their positions might suggest to rights activists that the medical group is promoting no defense against violent attack.
At their meeting in Chicago, the AMA announced a “wish list” that included the following, as reported by CNN:
- Opposing the arming of teachers in schools and keeping schools gun-free zones.
- Requiring all gun owners to complete a gun safety course and register all firearms.
- A ban on all “assault-type” weapons, bump stocks and related devices, high-capacity magazines and armor-piercing bullets.
- Supporting laws that prohibit individuals who are under domestic violence restraining orders or who are convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence crime or stalking from possessing or purchasing firearms. (This is already law.)
- Requiring that domestic violence restraining orders and gun violence restraining orders be entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
- Opposing national concealed carry reciprocity.
- Allowing family members and partners and law enforcement officials to petition courts for gun removal from individuals considered at high risk for violence.
Late last year, the House passed the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which is now languishing in the Senate despite Republican control. They do not seem too eager to vote on the measure, despite support from gun owners whose votes gave them the Capitol Hill majority.
There is another organization called Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, which has a much different perspective than the AMA. DRGO is a project of the Second Amendment Foundation.
Among the things found at the DRGO website is advice on what gun owners should tell their doctors if the subject of guns in the home comes up during an office visit. The group also supports legalization of suppressors (“silencers”) to protect the hearing of shooters.
“The group also modified policies that evaluated the role of guns in suicide,” CNN reported. Of the almost 176,000 gun-related deaths between 2012 to 2016, 62% of them were suicides, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Suicide prevention is a subject about which national gun rights advocates has taken a leadership role. Three years ago, Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, began working with suicide prevention experts at the University of Washington.
However, instead of calling for restrictions on gun owners, a pilot program approved by the Washington State Legislature gets gun owners, retailers and firearms instructors involved in the process. Still in its early stages, the effort has produced an instruction video for retailers and their employees about how to spot possible suicidal customers.
And last year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention announced a partnership to embark on a first-of-its-kind national plan to build and implement public education resources for firearms retailers, shooting ranges and the firearms-owning community about suicide prevention and firearms.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of schools are allowing or at least considering armed teachers and/or administrators. Other schools have armed police “resource officers” on campus.
While the AMA’s agenda is really nothing new, it is a reminder that the rights of gun owners are being attacked on several fronts, including the doctor’s office.
Second Amendment activists have taken issue with doctors who push gun control on the argument that so-called “gun violence” is a public health issue. Many gun owners believe physicians should avoid discussing gun safety issues with their patients unless they are certified firearms instructors. When it comes to engaging in gun politics, invariably someone argues that medical mistakes account for more deaths annually than gun-related fatalities.
In a May 2016 article, U.S. News reported that, “Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer, causing at least 250,000 deaths every year.” That assertion has been challenged, however.
CNN quoted Dr. David Barbe, the immediate past AMA president, who stated, “People are dying of gun violence in our homes, churches, schools, on street corners and at public gatherings, and it’s important that lawmakers, policy leaders and advocates on all sides seek common ground to address this public health crisis.”
That would mean allowing gun rights organizations to have seats at the table.
According to CNN, “It is unknown just how many guns there are in American households today, but it is estimated that 32% to 42% of the country lives in households with guns. Americans own more guns per capita than residents of any other country, according to the CDC. Nearly half of the estimated 650 million guns worldwide are owned by Americans.”
Many in the firearms community say that’s how it should be. It’s none of the AMA’s business how many people own firearms, how many guns are in American households or how they are stored, say gun rights activists, and they maintain it is also none of the government’s business. The argument is that there are only two reasons to register firearms: to tax them or take them.
