THE ISSUE
Gun violence is a public health emergency, and as with other public health areas, evidence-based interventions are needed for reducing injuries and deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 48,830 people died from gun-related
injuries in the United States in 2021, the most recent year for which complete data is available.[1] This figure includes gun suicides, gun homicides, and accidental shootings. The data indicate that firearms fatalities are increasing and
disparities are widening, with youth, males, and Black individuals experiencing the highest firearm homicide rates.[2]
Overwhelming evidence shows that strong gun laws can and do prevent gun violence.[3] Massachusetts ranks among the states with the strongest gun laws while experiencing the least amount of gun violence per capita in the entire country.[4] The Commonwealth has prioritized gun safety and has made great strides to curb gun violence, but we are not immune to this epidemic. In an average year, 255 people die and 688 are wounded by guns in Massachusetts.[5] Gun deaths and injuries
cost our state $2 billion, of which $92 million is paid by taxpayers.[6] Though they tend to get less public attention than gun homicides, suicides have long accounted for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. In Massachusetts, 56% of gun fatalities
are suicides.[7]
The volume of deaths, disabilities, and injuries across the country from guns has led to a general consensus in the medical community that firearm violence constitutes a direct but preventable threat to the safety of patients and is a public health crisis.
People who survive a firearm-related injury may experience long-term consequences, including cognitive problems with memory, thinking, emotions, and physical disability from injury to the brain; paralysis from injury to the spinal cord; and chronic
mental health problems from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The effects of firearm violence extend beyond victims and their families. Shooting incidents can affect the sense of safety and security of entire communities and impact
everyday decisions. While Massachusetts has enacted strong state-level protections related to gun safety, firearms still pour into the Commonwealth due to a lack of uniform restrictions in neighboring states. Public health interventions on both a
state and federal level are necessary to address the scale and complexity of the epidemic of gun violence.
OUR STANCE
The MMS has long recognized gun violence as a public health issue, and our policies in this area are grounded in ensuring a reduction of deaths, disabilities, and injuries; making firearm ownership safer; and promoting education relative to firearms,
ammunition, and violence prevention for health care professionals and the public. The MMS encourages evidence-based research to reduce firearm injuries and deaths. The Society supports policies that strengthen background checks for those who intend
to buy and own guns, a ban on assault weapon possession by private citizens, and an intensive and sustainable investment into research that aims to understand and prevent firearm violence. The MMS strongly supports the sacrosanct physician-patient
relationship, including routine discussions about firearm safety as a feature of preventive care, as well as advancing smart, logical, and evidence-based gun safety measures that impact and reduce violence.
OUR ADVOCACY
Along with the Massachusetts congressional delegation, the Massachusetts Medical Society has for decades advocated policies that will protect our patients from firearm injury and violence and advance firearm safety. We will continue that work and will
do so with a critical goal to protect our patients and our communities and to enact meaningful change to stem the preventable loss of life.
Toward that end, the MMS convened a Firearm Safety and Gun Violence Prevention Advisory Group in 2023. The advisory group, consisting of subject matter experts from across the Commonwealth, advises and recommends actions to enhance firearm safety and
gun violence prevention advocacy efforts in education, collaboration, legislative action, and communication in Massachusetts, through the AMA, and at the federal level. These priorities help to ensure patients — the public — are at limited danger
from firearm injury and death. A summary of recent initiatives and proposals relative to firearm safety can be found in this Vital Signs article.
The MMS partnered with the Office of the Attorney General to create information for patients and physicians about gun safety and firearm laws.
In addition to educational efforts, the MMS’ advocacy includes support of Senator Warren’s Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act,
comprehensive legislation that importantly establishes a pathway to evidence-based solutions that will reduce and prevent firearm violence while providing meaningful and sustainable investment to better understand and address its causes. The MMS testified
in support of legislation that is consistent with our firearm policies, including a 2018 law to authorize extreme risk-protective orders. In the 2023–24 legislative session, the Medical Society has supported comprehensive legislation to modernize the Commonwealth’s firearms laws.
The MMS Continuing Education Department offers an accredited CME course,
which will help learners to:
- assess the need for screening based on conversation(s) with the patient on firearm ownership and safety.
- identify necessary intervention when depression, anxiety, dementia, or substance use combine with suicidal ideation.
- enumerate what community-based programs are available for patients beyond the office or hospital setting.
[1] Gramlich, J. (2023, April 26). What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
[2] Gramlich, J. (2023, April 26). What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
[3] Gun safety policies save lives. Everytown Research & Policy. (2023, May 8). https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/
[4] Gun safety policies save lives. Everytown Research & Policy. (2023, May 8). https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/
[5] Gun violence in Massachusetts - everystat.org. (n.d.). https://everystat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Gun-Violence-in-Massachusetts.pdf
[6] Gun violence in Massachusetts - everystat.org. (n.d.). https://everystat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Gun-Violence-in-Massachusetts.pdf
[7] Gun violence in Massachusetts - everystat.org. (n.d.). https://everystat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Gun-Violence-in-Massachusetts.pdf
