BLOG: America’s gun violence problem will not be solved by judges
In a reckless decision made by a conservative majority, the Supreme Court struck down a New York State law that restricted carrying guns in public.
While the justices are throwing about esoteric debates and agonizing over semantics, I am caring for a young man today who was left quadriplegic by a gunshot wound. My colleagues have cared for victims of mass shootings. Hospital violence is rising with violence in Tulsa, OK. Mental health across the country has suffered.
However, these justices prioritize giving everyone a gun to walk around with.
The institution of the courts seems to walk both sides of the fence, both encouraging widespread gun use and ownership and simultaneously historically enacting harsh penalties on those who use the weapons, leading the U.S. to have more incarcerated citizens than any other country. The U.S. has only 5% of the global population but houses 25% of the prisoners worldwide. The U.S. murder rate is 25 times higher than comparable high-income countries. This dichotomy begs the question of whether the justices consider these cases in a vacuum, completely divorced from the reality around them.
These conservative judges do not take care of patients. They do not personally deal with the ramifications of the theoretical decisions they pass down from a bench far removed from the American people. Although physicians have been accused of not staying in our lane when it comes to gun regulation, I would like to turn the tables. There is no one better suited to weigh in on the gun debate than doctors. The scourge of gun violence is a public health crisis.
Read the full blog post at Women in Medicine Summit.
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Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, FACP, FHM, is a hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Cooper University Hospital/Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Her opinions do not necessary reflect those of her employer. She can be reached at cerceo-elizabeth@cooperhealth.edu.
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