Guns: lifesaver, or public health menace?

A September 5 article in the Washington Times entitled "How Many Do Guns Defend?" said: "Criminologist and researcher Gary Kleck, using his own commissioned phone surveys and number extrapolation, estimates 2.5 million Americans use guns for defense each year. He further found 1 in 6 of those who used guns defensively believed someone would have died if they had not resorted to their firearms.... Mr. Kleck points out that if only a tenth of the people were right about saving a life, the number saved annually by guns would still be at least 40,000." This stands in comparison with 12,548 people dying in 2003 "through nonsuicide gun violence, including homicides, accidents and cases of undetermined intent."

Yet, several physicians groups repeatedly refer to guns as a public health menace and link guns as a causative factor in violence. They back up their assertions with "facts" from gun control groups--"facts" that misrepresent the truth or are outright lies. For instance, they often refer to a statistic promoted by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence that claims that "the risk of homicide is three times greater in households with guns." Of course, they don't mention that the study this statistic came from has been discredited for not following scientific procedures, or that the author of the study, Arthur Kellerman, has admitted the study was flawed.

According to a 2004 article by medical lawyer Madeleine Pelner Cosman, the physicians groups enlist the aid of doctors in promoting the banning of guns. Cosman adds, "The American Academy of Family Physicians and the Academy of Pediatrics counsel their doctors to question their patients about guns they keep in the home, where, and how, and to record the answers on the patient's medical record. Physicians are encouraged to counsel patients to get rid of the guns."

According to Cosman, since 2003 that information has been made available for government inspection because of a medical law called HIPAA, the Health Portability and Accountability Act (first passed in 1996). She reports: "All medical records must be available for government Electronic Data Interchange."

If your doctor asks about your guns, a polite response indicating that you're only interested in speaking about medically related issues should suffice to circumvent this threat to your right to gun ownership.