Citation

Kassirer JP. JAMA Intern. Med. 2013; 173(3): 182-183.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.4026

PMID

23262523

Abstract

While our national leaders agonize about the threats in the Middle East from missiles, bombs, and automatic weapons that might fall into terrorist hands, they have remained eerily silent about the unlimited access to weapons of mass destruction in our own backyard. In a sickening recapitulation of terror wrought in schools, movie theaters, and malls, our nation grieves for the large number of innocents murdered in a few minutes by a single American gunman. Yet the gun lobby has successfully muzzled political debate about guns, shut down federal research on gun-related injuries, and promoted legislation that prevents physicians from asking patients about gun-related risks. In the last few years, Supreme Court cases resulted in judgments that affirmed the right to keep guns in the home for protection. Recently, a federal appeals court ruled that our citizens even have a constitutional right to carry loaded guns outside their homes.1 Although legal scholars have questioned the current relevance of the Second Amendment, now that men no longer have to bring their private weapons to join the local militia,2 the Supreme Court has spoken, and for now we must live with its interpretation.

Our sense of security, already seriously shaken by the launching of long-range missiles by rogue countries, by attacks on our citizens abroad, and by brazen terrorist assaults at home, now has us looking over our shoulders when we send our children to school or go to Macy's to buy a shirt. This state of chronic anxiety over safety is new; it is damaging individually and to our national psyche, and we must ameliorate the threats. We must not tolerate a situation in which some irrational, seriously disturbed person with a grudge can quickly blow us to bits along with dozens of others.

Many approaches to prevent this kind of mayhem have been proposed. Some have suggested arming the public: the more guns, they argue, the greater the likelihood that someone will be able to “take down” a shooter. But imagine asking school nurses, librarians, sales clerks, and movie ushers to “pack heat.” Would they kill the shooter or, accidentally, each other? If we judge by recent experiences, this strategy is wanting. In Florida, a “neighborhood watch coordinator” killed an unarmed boy who was acting suspiciously; and near the Empire State Building, police fire injured 9 pedestrians while they were subduing 1 shooter. Would “more guns” lead to fewer gun deaths? Unlikely....[excerpt]

Language: en