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ROBERT SEGE, MD,PhD , FAAP Boston Medical Center. AAP Policy and Strategies to Protect Children from Firearms. Overview: 2012 AAP Policy Statement. 2012 Mass Killings.
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ROBERT SEGE, MD,PhD, FAAP Boston Medical Center AAP Policy and Strategies to Protect Children from Firearms
2012 Mass Killings April 2 - A gunman kills seven people and wounds three in a shooting rampage at a Christian college in Oakland.July 20 - A masked gunman kills 12 people and wounds 58 when he opens fire on moviegoers at a showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado.Aug. 5 - A gunman kills six people during Sunday services at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, before he is shot dead by a police officer.Sept. 27 - A disgruntled former employee kills five people and takes his own life in a shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company from which he had been fired.Dec. 14 - A shooter opens fire at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing several people including children.
2012 Mass Killings: Weapons Used incident weapon .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with 4X 10-round magazines Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic with a 100-round drum magazine 9 mm semiautomatic handgun with multiple ammunition magazines 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol Bushmaster .223 caliber-- model XM15-E2S rifle with high capacity 30 round clips • Oakland, California • Aurora, Colorado • Sikh Temple in Wisconsin • Minneapolis, Minnesota • Sandy Hook, Connecticut
Legislative: Assault Weapons Ban Pro CON Loopholes in ban likely to make it less effective Does not address the vast majority of gun violence • Weapon of choice in mass murders • No real civilian use • Expiration of ban led to more mass killings (Clinton) • AAP endorsed • Law enforcement endorsed
Legislative Proposals Directed at mass killings Unlikely to help Concealed carry laws Armed bystanders • Restrictions on military style weapons • Restrictions on ammunition • Restrictions on high capacity magazines • Mental health - most mass killings are suicides
Pediatricians: What People Think . . . We know We don’t know Much about guns Much about the US Constitution • A lot about children • Something about families
Case 1: Accident Student carried step-dad’s weapon in backpack Shared it with other students on the bus One day, it went off during fooling around Girl killed 15 year old to be tried as an adult
Epidemiology: Unintentional, Ages 0-19 • 114 children and adolescent deaths • 66 / 114 in the 15-to 19-year age group • Many non-fatal injuries • Fatal shootings usually inflicted by other children – typically friends or siblings • Little data concerning precise circumstances Every week, one child under 15 dies due to unintentional firearm injury
What We Know • Children are curious and childlike • Gun safety courses aimed at kids do not work • Reduced child access prevents accidents
Case 2: Teen Suicide 18 year old committed suicide at college According to witnesses the student was a male music major. Several witnesses heard a gun shot and reports have confirmed that the student shot himself.
Epidemiology: Teen Suicide, Ages 15-19 • 736 deaths, 3.4 per 100 000 • Third leading cause of death • Most common method for suicide deaths • Approximately 90% mortality rate • Very short time between decision & action Strong evidence suggests that the presence of firearms in the home increases the risk of suicide among adolescents
Legislative Implications Might work Might cause harm Allow college students to have firearms on campus Allowing young adults to carry weapons in bars Speeding up background checks (delay helps) Restrictions on MD counseling • Child Access Prevention • Improved mental health services • Required training for MH providers on the danger of firearms access • Mental health screen as part of background checks • Gun shop protocols
Gun Shop Effort: NH Voluntary 48% of NH gun shops have signed on Police cooperation A woman came into the shop asking about buying a gun because of some emotional problems. I told her she didn’t need a gun, she needed spiritual help. So I took her to my pastor. “There was a guy I wouldn’t sell a gun to because he just didn’t seem right. I later got a letter from his attorney thanking me for saving his client’s life.”
Case 4: Homicide A group of 10 to 12 teens at the park had taken shelter under a canopy there during a rainstorm when a boy or man jumped a fence in the park, ran toward the group and opened fire, police said in a statement this evening.
Epidemiology: Homicide,Ages 15-19 • 84.5% of all homicides were firearm-related • Deaths of males outnumber deaths of females • Young black men have the highest rates • In 68.5% handgun was the murder weapon • Higher in major cities (5.2 v. 4.2 per 100 000) • Highest in the central cities (9.7 per 100 000).
Legislative Implications Supported Not supported Concealed carry permits Any weakening of background checks Restrictions on MD counseling • Regulation of handguns • Closing loopholes on legal gun sales • Liability for gun owners • Targeting funds to local hot spots • One gun per month to limit trafficking • Technical improvements - smart guns, etc.
Brian Malte, Director of Policy & Advocacy Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Gun Legislation: Where We Are andThe Pathway Forward
Brady Campaign and Center • Citizen’s lobby funded by the American Public • Comprehensive Approach: Public Health and Safety Programs, Public Policy and Gun Industry Reform in the courts.
Did we really lose? • Vote on Background Check Amendment: 55-45 -- more than half of Senate votes ‘YES”. • Majority Leader Reid votes “NO” to allow amendment to be reconsidered. • 6, A-rated NRA Senators voted ‘YES’ with two (Manchin/Toomey) sponsoring the amendment. • More than 90% of Americans favor expanding Brady background checks. • Public outraged over Senate vote. • Dem leaders vow to bring Senate vote up again.
How long did it take to pass the Brady Law • It took six years, three presidential administrations, and seven floor votes over three Congress’ to pass the original Brady Bill. • Success of Brady Law: more than 2 million prohibited people stopped from buying guns at gun stores.
What we saw, what we heard • President Obama takes leadership role. • Thousands and thousands of new advocates around the country joining the cause. • Great coordination among GVP groups and other partner groups on legislation. • 15 new Brady/Million Mom March Chapters (now 75 chapters nationwide) and many new Mom’s Demand Action chapters. • Hill offices reporting that our side matched and many times surpassed the calls from our opponents even in states like North Carolina and Louisiana. • Sen. Toomey’s (PA) favorable poll numbers greatly increased while Sen. Ayotte’s (NH) poll numbers decreased over her gun vote.
Round 2: The Way Forward • Continue to thank those Senators who voted the right way. • Urge Senators who voted the wrong way to change their vote. • Immediately focus on building pressure in the U.S. House to urge members to cosponsor H.R. 1565 (House version of Toomey/Manchin).
Background Checks Compromise • Extends Brady background checks to cover gun show sales and online/commercial sales. • All sales transfers must go through a federally licensed dealer. • Paper records kept a licensed dealer -- help law enforcement trace crime guns.
Initiating a Background Check • A potential gun buyer completes ATF Form 4473 at FFL. • FFL verifies information on 4473 with potential purchaser’s gov’t ID. • FFL calls one of the three National Instant Check System centers to initiate a check.
Brady background checks contribute to public safety in multiple, interacting ways. They: • block attempts to purchase guns by potentially dangerous people; • thwart gun traffickers; • help law enforcement catch dangerous criminals.
Why Background Checks? • Over 2 million people stopped from buying guns. • Study based on data from 54 cities found that requiring state background checks for private sales reduced gun trafficking within a state by 48 percent (Webster, p. 525) • The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 80 percent of state inmates purchased guns from family, friends, a street buy or an illegal source (Harlow, p. 1)
Key Example of Need for Background Checks • In 2006, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alabama announced the arrests of a gun trafficking ring. • The traffickers moved an estimated 70,000 guns. • 267 linked to violent crimes and drug offenses, by selling guns at gun shows and flea markets without background checks. • The ring sold guns directly to felons among other offenses (U.S. Attorney, N.D. Ala., 2006).
States Not Waiting for Congress:Progress in 2013 • CT: Universal checks, ban on gun magazines • CO: Universal checks, ban on magazines • MD: fingerprint licensing, strengthened ban on gun magazines, assault weapons • NY: Universal checks, strengthen bans on assault weapons, gun magazines • DE: Universal checks
States Not Waiting for Congress:States in Progress • DE: Reporting lost and stolen guns • CA: The LIFE Act • RI: Gun violence prevention package • NJ: Assembly passed package, now in Senate
Fighting Pre-conceived perception • Media believes we’ll go away. • Some Senators vote NO fearing gun lobby. • It’s up to us to keep the pressure on. • This time is different---ownership!!! • The time is NOW!!
Messaging Briefing Christian Heyne tchristianheyne@csgv.org 202-408-0061 x1010 Joshua Horwitz Jhorwitz@csgv.org 202-408-0061 x1001
Framing = Values = Emotion “The best way to communicate values is to use words and phrases that no Coke-drinking, apple-pie eating American could disagree with. Family. Freedom. Opportunity. Responsibility. Community. These are true American values, and they should be used as part of a larger personal message.”- Introduction to Frank Luntz’s “playbook”
Key Frames • The serious personal toll that gun violence takes on Americans’ lives • The people’s right to be free from violence in their communities • The changing nature of weapons toward more powerful, military-style firearms that make us less safe
