Dear Doctors Marshall, Cassidy, Paul, and Barrasso,

We as a medical community are deeply disturbed by the continued gun violence in our country and the lack of action taken by our nation’s leaders to address this epidemic. In 2016 the American Medical Association identified gun violence in the US as a public health crisis. The recent horrific murders in Uvalde and Buffalo add to the mountain of evidence supporting this tragic diagnosis. We stand with the AMA in recognizing this serious threat to our patients’ health and wellbeing. In doing so, we call on you as a physician and as a public servant to take a stand for common-sense legislation to decrease gun violence in our nation.

As doctors, we bear witness to the suffering that results from this epidemic of gun violence. Our emergency medicine providers manage the mass casualty events. Their backdrop is the terrified screams of our nation’s children, and the wail of their parents when they learn they are dead. Our trauma surgeons crack the chest of the fourteen-year-old victim that drowns in his own blood. As skilled as their hands are, they are no match for an AR-15. Our pediatricians, family medicine doctors, and mental health providers deal with the fall-out everyday. While lawmakers continually cite mental health issues as a false flag for gun violence, they fail to recognize that the trauma of gun violence, both on individuals and collectively on society, is causing serious mental health issues in and of itself. How can we reassure our traumatized patients that they are indeed safe when nothing has changed?

The vast majority of voters support requiring background checks for all gun purchases and enacting a 30-day waiting period for all gun sales (Gallup). We call on you to advocate for background checks on all gun sales, including those sold online and at gun shows. It is time to close the Charleston Loophole. In addition, we petition you to promote a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines. As a medical provider you have the unique ability to step outside party lines for the sake of our nation’s health.

As fellow physicians, we call on you to be worthy of the responsibility with which you have been endowed. We ask you to recall your white coat ceremony—the seriousness with which you pledged your life to the betterment of your patients—and to remember why you wanted to be a doctor in the first place. Can we say we genuinely care about our nation's children if we don’t pass gun-safety legislation that could save their lives? Let us remember that as physicians and leaders, we also represent those who don’t yet have the ability to advocate for themselves. Their lives depend on you.

Sincerely,

Doctors of America