[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 66 (Monday, May 5, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S2643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, listening to your doctor is just common 
sense. That is why it is important for Congress to take note that this 
April, the American College of Physicians, ACP, our Nation's largest 
medical-specialty organization and second largest physician group, 
released an important diagnosis: that our Nation is trapped in an 
epidemic of gun violence. Fortunately, it also includes a treatment: a 
set of policy positions and recommendations to reduce gun violence in 
our country.
  The ACP report begins with recognition that ``firearm violence is not 
only a criminal justice issue but also a public health threat.'' The 
statistics are undeniable: Guns kill over 32,000 individuals in our 
Nation every year--about 88 lives stolen, every day. But those are only 
the fatal shootings; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
have estimated that more than 73,000 nonfatal firearm injuries occur in 
the United States every year. And what is a ``nonfatal'' injury? 
Anything from a bullet grazing someone's shoulder, to a domestic abuser 
taking aim at a spouse's heart and striking the arm, to a child 
accidentally shooting him or herself in the stomach and barely 
surviving. ``Nonfatal'' gun injuries may evade the first sad statistic, 
but they can be devastating all the same. These statistics also belie 
the collateral damage the families, friends and communities shattered 
by a pull of the trigger.
  The ACP report surveyed the highly trained and clinically minded 
internists whom we entrust with our health and well-being, along with 
that of our families, children and communities. Direct experience with 
the problem was widespread, with 63 percent of surveyed internists 
reporting having had patients who were injured or given fatal wounds by 
a gun. Other results showed overwhelming consensus: that 85 percent of 
surveyed internists believe firearm injuries are a public health issue; 
95 percent support mandatory background checks on all firearm 
purchases; 86 percent support a ban on military-style assault weapons; 
85 percent support a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines; and 86 
percent support the creation of requirements that all firearms include 
child-proof safety features. 76 percent of respondents agreed that gun 
safety legislation would ``help to reduce the risk for gun related 
injuries or deaths.''
  Responding to this consensus, the ACP report includes several 
recommendations to reduce gun violence in our society. It argues that 
all gun sales should be ``subject to satisfactory completion of a 
criminal background check,'' and supports enactment of ``a universal 
background check system to keep guns out of the hands'' of dangerous 
individuals. Fortunately, there is legislation pending in this Congress 
that would do just that.
  It also supports the ``enactment of legislation to ban the sale and 
manufacture for civilian use of firearms that have features designed to 
increase their rapid killing capacity (often called assault 
weapons.')'' Legislation pending in this Congress would also accomplish 
that goal.
  In addition, the report argues for ``strong penalties and criminal 
prosecution for those who sell firearms illegally and those who legally 
purchase firearms for those who are banned from possession of them''--
so called ``straw'' purchases. And yes, there is legislation pending in 
this Congress to do that too.
  Mr. President, our Nation's medical community agrees with our law 
enforcement community, and the 90 percent of Americans who support 
sensible gun safety reforms. I urge my colleagues to listen to these 
important voices and to pass the commonsense pieces of legislation 
already pending before this body. The cost of inaction is just too 
high.

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