Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Our country should keep talking about guns

Sarah McAfee
Conditions
May 4, 2016
24 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Two weeks before my oldest cousin’s twenty-third birthday, he shot and killed himself. It scarred our family. The kind of jagged, gnarled scar, like a poorly-filled pothole, that — even though it’s been nearly twenty years — you still run your fingers across from time to time and feel the sting of a fresh wound.

We weren’t all that close, but as a 14 year old, sorting through my own perceptions of self-worth and fears about the future at the time of his death, I felt it very deeply. It was the first time a loved one of mine had committed suicide, but it would not be the last. Not even close.

I want to talk about guns. It’s controversial, fraught with partisan politics, and the conversation always seems to focus on the fringe issues. We argue about whether we need armed employees at schools or campus gun bans, but the number of deaths from school shootings is very, very small compared to the total number of gun-related deaths (although we all believe the number should be zero). We argue about ways to fix the mental health care system, so we keep guns out of the wrong hands, but the connection between mental illness and violence is weak (although we all believe the mental health care system absolutely needs improvement). Those are not the issues I want to talk about (today, at least).

Personal experience always trumps rhetoric, so for me, when I think about guns, it is suicide and its impact on families and communities that weighs on my mind. Unlike the other gun issues we debate, this one is, statistically, the biggest issue related to guns in the U.S.: Americans are far more likely to kill themselves than each other. In 2012, nearly two-thirds of all firearm deaths were suicides, and the number is rising. In fact, firearm homicides have been decreasing since 2006, despite the proliferation of media attention, the issue is currently receiving.

Suicide is unquestionably a mental health problem, and an especially big problem in western states like Colorado. But it’s a gun problem, too. Of all those who attempt suicide, 9 percent die; of those who attempt suicide with a gun, 85 percent die. According to the CDC, more than half of suicide deaths involved firearms — over 21,000 in 2013. That’s about the same as the number of deaths from leukemia each year, and at that scale, it’s hard to deny that guns are a public health issue.

Without banning cigarettes and shutting down manufacturers, we’ve still managed to significantly reduce their negative effects on the general population. If we’re willing to have a thoughtful, civil discussion around how we limit exposure of vulnerable populations to guns, one that recognizes that there isn’t a single solution, but that we need a multi-faceted, commonsense approach, then we can make progress on this issue, too.

I want our leaders and our country to keep talking about guns, because we haven’t found our common ground yet. I want our communities to talk about public safety, crime, and individual liberties, but not let fear guide our policymaking. And, I want us all to talk about the lives that are at stake, and the loved ones we’ve lost.

Suicide has always been a taboo way to die — a cause of death that’s quietly left out of obituaries — and access to a gun facilitates it. The human cost of our silence is too great; so let’s talk about it. For David, and all the others.

Sarah McAfee is director of communications, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved. She can be reached on Twitter @sarahdmcafee.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Make a patient's journey easier with a simple act of kindness

May 4, 2016 Kevin 0
…
Next

Why I'm doing one of the riskiest surgeries in medicine

May 4, 2016 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Make a patient's journey easier with a simple act of kindness
Next Post >
Why I'm doing one of the riskiest surgeries in medicine

More by Sarah McAfee

  • Thank you health care providers for being on call

    Sarah McAfee

Related Posts

  • Why guns should be tracked and studied

    Karen Bonuck, PhD
  • Gun control is our lane: Physician opinions on guns matter

    Karen S. Sibert, MD
  • A disturbing study about children and guns

    Christopher Johnson, MD
  • Talking politics in the exam room

    Hayward Zwerling, MD
  • Taking guns away from people in crisis: Does it work?

    Liz Szabo
  • Limiting access to guns may not be the best solution to the present crisis

    John Corsino, DPT

More in Conditions

  • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

    Angel Garcia Otano, MD
  • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

    Frank Chen, MD
  • Exploring disfigurement and self-worth

    Kathleen Watt
  • Are we doing enough to help chronic pain sufferers?

    Adam Strohl, MD
  • Lessons taught by Bell’s palsy

    Alexander Rakowsky, MD
  • Unthinkable choices in childbirth emergencies

    Kim M. Puterbaugh, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Dying is a selfish business

      Nancie Wiseman Attwater | Conditions
    • Navigating medical decision-making: Embracing limits and growth

      Benjamin Wade Frush, MD | Physician
    • Empathy and compassion in palliative care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • 1 in 5 doctors will become disabled. Are you prepared?

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance
    • The pros and cons of whole life insurance for high-income earners

      Shane Tenny, CFP | Finance
    • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

      Frank Chen, MD | Conditions
    • Is emergency medicine your calling? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 9 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Reduced Mortality Seen in Cancer Survivors Who Meet Exercise Guidelines
  • CDC Advisors Endorse Maternal RSV Vax to Protect Newborns
  • Amoxicillin Alone for Acute Sinusitis Holds Up Against Broad-Spectrum Cousin
  • Despite Taboo, Med Students, Doctors Use Substances Too
  • White House Opens Gun Violence Prevention Office

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Dying is a selfish business

      Nancie Wiseman Attwater | Conditions
    • Navigating medical decision-making: Embracing limits and growth

      Benjamin Wade Frush, MD | Physician
    • Empathy and compassion in palliative care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • 1 in 5 doctors will become disabled. Are you prepared?

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance
    • The pros and cons of whole life insurance for high-income earners

      Shane Tenny, CFP | Finance
    • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

      Frank Chen, MD | Conditions
    • Is emergency medicine your calling? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Our country should keep talking about guns
9 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...