The American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians wants to applaud the group of 8 bipartisan Senators as well as both houses of Congress on the recent passage of the first significant gun safety measures in decades. While it does not address all of the issues which we feel are paramount to keeping our children safe from firearm related injury and death, this legislation marks a large step in the right direction. We fully support the effort to increase funding for mental health resources, investigating ways to make schools safer, and the implementation of so-called “red flag” laws to protect those who are deemed a danger to themselves or to others.
We respect the long-held right of law-abiding citizens to own and maintain firearms for safety and sport, however, without continued discussion on how to do so safely, we will continue to see innocent lives lost to firearms. This legislation is a significant first step towards safety, and we encourage continued discussion on how we can continue to move forward as a nation to support the safety of our children.
