Most Americans have strong feelings about gun control, whether in favor of more or less. Legislation has even been passed restricting physicians from discussing guns with patients. What is your opinion about healthcare professionals discussing safekeeping of guns in the home?
Gun ownership and regulation is a very emotional issue in the U.S. and there has been strong reaction to whether physicians and other healthcare providers should be involved in doing more to curb gun related injuries and deaths. I would like to hear some of your opinions regarding physician involvement, but first let's look at some of the gun statistics in the U.S.
More than 108,000 people are shot per year in murders, assaults, suicides, suicide attempts, unintentional shootings or by police intervention.
* More than 32,000 of them die.
* The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000.
* Everyday 297 people are shot.
* 89 people die.
* 31 of them are murdered.
* 55 are suicides.
* 2 are killed unintentionally.
* 1 is killed by police.
* 1 is unknown intent.
* One in five deaths are people ages 15-29.
Over 17,000 American children and teens are injured or killed each year due to gun violence.
* 2,677 of those children die.
* Nearly 48 youth are shot per day including 7 fatalities.
* 5 are murdered and 2 are suicides.
1 in 3 homes with children have guns.
* 42% of parents with guns keep at least one unlocked.
* 25% of parents with guns keep at least loaded.
* 3 in 4 children know where firearms are kept in the home.
(Statistics; bradycampaign.org).
It has been suggested that clinicians could play a major role in reducing children's access to guns by asking if there is a gun in the home, and if so, counseling on firearm storage practices. One study showed that patients who received counseling on firearm storage were more likely to make a change in storage practice than patients who did not receive counseling. (64% vs 33%). (J Am Board Fam.Pract).
Pediatrician's offices and hospitals routinely give out infant and car seats, would it also be appropriate to distribute trigger locks and lockboxes? Firearm related injuries are a public health issue, so should there be public health initiatives regarding firearms such as there have been for reducing tobacco, toy and motor vehicle related deaths?
Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
I was thinking of Suburbia, where I reside, but okay.
OT: Does this happen often? One of my best friends lives in Texas and works on a cattle ranch. I love her stories, because her life is so different than mine.
with the big cats every calf season. Yes if lucky only one calf season a year, but sometimes cows ovulation changes and you end up with í ½í°‚2-3 calf seasons in one year......even coyotes can endanger a just birthed calf....I do have female donkeys and an Anatolian shepherd.....but they can't really compete with the big cats as .223$FLIR night scope....
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
For the record, I entered this conversation initially to address the totally fabricated statistic that "three thousand kids a year die due to guns in the home".
I have NO PROBLEM with a pediatrician's office addressing safety issues like wearing a bike helmet, using a corificeat/seatbelt appropriately, etc. Proper gun storage, safe/supervised use of trampolines and swimming pools/ponds/lakes, childproofing the home for hazardous chemicals, knives, medications, alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, etc., should ALSO be included in that discussion.
My point is that anyone who is going to be bringing up these subjects should ALSO be willing/able to provide resources for people who do need more information to safeguard their children. If you personally don't know about the various types of gun safes, trigger locks, and biometrics that are available to gun owners, you should have a pamphlet or some other resource ready to hand out with contact information to people in your area that do have that particular type of knowledge.
Visit some local gun shops and talk to the people who work there. Then, after determining which shop has the most well-informed staff, tell the owner/manager that you'd like to refer your patients' parents to them for gun safety information, and have them give you some of their cards for you to give to the parents who need guidance.
with the big cats every calf season. Yes if lucky only one calf season a year, but sometimes cows ovulation changes and you end up with Ã*½Ã°‚2-3 calf seasons in one year......even coyotes can endanger a just birthed calf....I do have female donkeys and an Anatolian shepherd.....but they can't really compete with the big cats as .223$FLIR night scope....
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Absolutely not. It is no one's business but mine if I have a gun in my home. I was raised on a very rural farm and firearms were just a part of life. We kept a shotgun in the kitchen so it was ready to address predators in the yard. All members of the family over the age of 8 knew how to break it down, clean it, put it back together, load it and fire it. Younger children knew not to touch it. Before you got to go hunting you had to take and pass a gun/hunter safety course taught by a local sheriff and range master. Accidents with guns in our area were very rare. I learned to shoot when I was a child and still enjoy hunting. I am also a big proponent of open carry laws.
Do you really believe once you ask this question, the person is going to slap their forehead and say they never thought about securing the firearms until you just brought it up?
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How do you feel the second amendment relates to encouraging the safe storage and handling of firearms in the home?
Do you really believe once you ask this question, the person is going to slap their forehead and say they never thought about securing the firearms until you just brought it up?
I'm not against asking about proper storage, however it seems that when you say you do have a gun clinicians become concerned more about the gun then the child... At least out my way. Further the stats that were quoted are just as biased as quoting NRA stats. Try to find stats that don't have an agenda behind them.
I ask about guns, smoke and CO detectors, seat belt use, sunscreen use, domestic abuse etc at every well adult visit. It's just part of our screening. It's not meant to be punitive and judge someone, but to make sure the home environment is safe. Asking has potentially saved at least one person I know of. This woman was physically abused by her husband, and knowing there was a gun in the house helped me persuade her to go to a safe shelter. The beatings alone didn't convince her, but the idea of being shot did.
Who ever thought that was ever a sensible general screening question outside of psych/DV??? Firearm owners are used to judgmental anti-gun types or just don't like to advertise their ownership. So they predictably react: "Why in the heck are they asking if I own guns? Do they think I'm a threat? Do they think I'm crazy? Do they think I was involved with a crime? Are they going to record this and report it?"
And so they say: "NONE OF YO BEEZWAX!" Or just "Nope."
If you interest is safety, then be smart:
"Would it be OK to discuss the child safety benefits of safe firearm storage?"
One sentence: Clear intentions, respectful and not intrusive.
If you want to educate on safe firearm storage, you had better actually understand firearms or the patient will not listen. If you don't know the difference between a breech loader, muzzle loader, internal vs external magazine fed semiautomatic etc, and you recommend the wrong safety measure, you are going to look like a fool and not be listened to no matter how many statistics you spout.
Who ever thought that was ever a sensible general screening question outside of psych/DV??? Firearm owners are used to judgmental anti-gun types or just don't like to advertise their ownership. So they predictably react: "Why in the heck are they asking if I own guns? Do they think I'm a threat? Do they think I'm crazy? Do they think I was involved with a crime? Are they going to record this and report it?"
And so they say: "NONE OF YO BEEZWAX!" Or just "Nope."
If you interest is safety, then be smart:
"Would it be OK to discuss the child safety benefits of safe firearm storage?"
One sentence: Clear intentions, respectful and not intrusive.
If you want to educate on safe firearm storage, you had better actually understand firearms or the patient will not listen. If you don't know the difference between a breech loader, muzzle loader, internal vs external magazine fed semiautomatic etc, and you recommend the wrong safety measure, you are going to look like a fool and not be listened to no matter how many statistics you spout.
Why do we need to know that? I just want to know that it's locked up.
sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN
2,399 Posts
with the big cats every calf season. Yes if lucky only one calf season a year, but sometimes cows ovulation changes and you end up with í ½í°‚2-3 calf seasons in one year......even coyotes can endanger a just birthed calf....I do have female donkeys and an Anatolian shepherd.....but they can't really compete with the big cats as .223$FLIR night scope....