The AMA's goal and role in preventing gun-related injury

AMA Leader Commentary. By Richard F. Corlin, MD. Dec. 17, 2001.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from AMA President Richard F. Corlin, MD.

If you're a member of the National Rifle Assn. as well as the AMA, you might have seen my picture recently in the NRA journal, taking up a full page. It was my inaugural address that drew the group's attention. I said it's about time we acknowledged the scourge of gun violence in our nation, just as we would any other public health crisis, such as polio, tobacco or drunk driving.

What I called for in my inaugural is very much in keeping with the more than 20 AMA policies concerning firearm safety: Policies approved by the AMA House of Delegates. And, let me remind you, neither those policies nor my inaugural address attack the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Nor do they call for a ban on guns of any kind. Rather, they are concerned with how we as a people and physicians as a profession can work together to avoid preventable injury and death.

Our first step, as I outlined in my speech, is to gather the data we need to address the crisis of gun-related violence and injuries. We took our first major step in doing that at a conference I chaired last month. We convened a small group of people representing the whole spectrum of organizations involved with the issue of gun violence.

The meeting had representatives from Federation organizations; academicians who are key staff for the National Research Council study on gun-related violence; representatives of advocacy groups, both pro- and anti-gun; and representatives from three foundations. [...]