"Just the facts, ma'am"
Alan J. Schwartz, MD MSEd
In 1949, Dragnet, a classic police procedural crime drama, began as a weekly radio show and transitioned to became one of the most popular TV series of the 1950s. Dragnet’s principal character, police detective Sergeant Joe Friday, repeatedly uttered the iconic admonition, "Just the facts, ma'am" to ferret out the truth.
Of the multiple epidemics we are currently experiencing in the US, the ongoing gun violence catastrophe is among the most significant. Let’s consider, "Just the facts, ma'am" about the all consuming gun violence crisis.
The American Public Health Association1 reports,
“>38,000-gun related deaths and ~85,000-gun related injuries have become a yearly truth. In 2023 so far more than 130 mass shootings have occurred.”1
The American Academy of Pediatric Parenting Website, healthychildren.org2 relates,
“During the pandemic, firearm death increased rapidly, by 28% from 2019-2020, the most recent data available, from 7,947 gun-related deaths in 2019 among children and young people, ages 24 and younger, to 10,197 in 2020.”2
The BBC3 posts,
“The US ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents, up from 88 per 100 in 2011, far surpasses that of other countries around the world.”3
A February 2022 Annals of Internal Medicine4 study reveals,
“An estimated 7.5 million US adults became new gun owners from January 2019 to April 2021…exposing 11 million people to firearms in their homes, including 5 million children.”4
The December 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics Technical Report5 and Policy Statement6 offer Guidance for the Clinician in Rendering Pediatric Care declaring,
“Firearms are the leading cause of death in children and youth 0 to 24 years of age in the United States. In 2020, firearms resulted in 10,197 deaths (fatality rate 9.91 per 100,000 youth 0–24 years old). Firearms are the leading mechanism of death in pediatric suicides and homicides. Increased access to firearms is associated with increased rates of firearm deaths.”5
“RECOMMENDATIONS TO DECREASE FIREARM DEATHS AND INJURIES TO CHILDREN AND YOUTH
I. Firearm anticipatory guidance and lethal means counseling
A. Educate clinicians about firearm epidemiology, anticipatory guidance, and lethal means restriction: clinicians, including trainees, should be provided training on the importance of, and how to have, these discussions with patients and families to decrease firearm injuries and deaths.”6
A very recent set of facts about the gun violence catastrophe was published in the Washington Post.7 The Post’s goal was to expand upon the facts that explain the lethality of AR-15 assault weapons.
“The Washington Post sought to illustrate the force of the AR-15 and reveal its catastrophic effects.
The first part of this report is a 3D animation that shows the trajectory of two different hypothetical gunshots to the chest — one from an AR-15 and another from a typical handgun — to explain the greater severity of the damage caused by the AR-15.
The second part depicts [through animation] the entrance and exit wounds of two actual victims…
When multiple bullets from an AR-15 strike one body, they cause a cascade of catastrophic damage.
This is the trauma witnessed by first responders — but rarely, if ever, seen by the public or the policymakers who write gun laws.
The Post determined that there is a public interest in demonstrating the uniquely destructive power of the AR-15 when used to kill.
Due to the unusual visual nature of the presentation, The Post took the added step of seeking — and receiving — the consent of the victims’ families before proceeding with this account. ”7
With a goal of objectivity, the Washington Post Editors prefaced their report with the following note:
“We are publishing these 3D animations to show the destructive power of the AR-15. The images may disturb some people.”7 (the bold emphasis has been added by the Authors of this PAAD article)
Thanks for reading this PAAD presentation. Thanks for viewing the Washington Post presentation of the facts regarding “The [AR-15] Blast Effect”.7 Derive your own conclusions about the facts. Ponder how best to utilize the facts for the benefit of future potential victims of gun violence.
PS from Myron: For those of you who attended the Annual meeting of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia in Austin last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics advocacy lecture session entitled : Empowered MDs-Protecting our Children had a fabulous lecture by Dr. Katherine Hoops entitled “Firearm injury, prevention, and policy: What clinicians need to know” was brilliant and well worth your time to review.
https://www2.pedsanesthesia.org/meetings/2023winter/guide/program/files/2023-TX-1678162556-5835.pdf
Dr. Hoops is an Assistant Professor, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine and the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Dr. Hoops is a gun owner and her family owns a shooting range. She pointed out that the vast majority of gun deaths in the U.S. are the result of suicide, not mass shootings and often preventable. Her lecture was fantastic and she identified several evidence based policies for gun violence and injury prevention that most gun owners agree with. I would urge all of you who were unable to attend to download this lecture. MY
References
1. (https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence) (accessed 04/01/2023)
2. Gun Deaths: Urgent Public Health Crisis Affecting Children & Teens. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/firearm-deaths-spike-almost-30-percent-during-pandemic-gun-homicides-rise-35-precent-from-2019-20.aspx?_ga=2.52731368.1110099121.1680359486-1806141608.1680359486&_gl=1*va25xr*_ga*MTgwNjE0MTYwOC4xNjgwMzU5NDg2*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*MTY4MDM2NjI1OC4yLjEuMTY4MDM2NjQwNC4wLjAuMA.. (accessed 04/01/2023)
3. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081) (accessed 04/01/2023)
4. Miller M, Zhang W, Azrael D: Firearm Purchasing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From the 2021 National Firearms Survey. Ann Intern Med 2022; 175: 219-225 (https://doi.org/10.7326/M21-3423)
5. Lee LK, FleeglerEW, Goyal MK, Doh KF, Laraque-Arena D, Hoffman BD, The Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention: Firearm-Related Injuries and Deaths in Children and Youth. PEDIATRICS 2022; 150 (6): e2022060071
6. Lee LK, Fleegler EW, Goyal MK, et al; AAP Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. Firearm-Related Injuries and Deaths in Children and Youth: Injury Prevention and Harm Reduction. Pediatrics. 2022;150(6): e2022060070
7. Kirkpatrick N, Mirza A, Canales M: The Blast Effect. Washington Post, March 27, 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/ar-15-damage-to-human-body/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F398b342%2F6423167bf19a510b042865f7%2F596a4729ade4e20ee3700568%2F8%2F72%2F6423167bf19a510b042865f7&wp_cu=d5adc611fdd0f96c45ca9b27966543f2%7CC0DBB7A781622B3DE0430100007F44AE (accessed 03/28/2023)