The Washington DC-based Consortium of Universities for Global Health (www.cugh.org) calls on the US Congress to pass publicly supported gun safety regulations.
The massacre of innocent children in Uvalde, Texas, and the targeted slaughter of African American civilians in Buffalo, are the latest and most visible examples of the preventable public health gun violence crisis in the United States. Every year, approximately 100,000 people are killed by gunshot and more than 73,000 people are injured. The United States accounts for 9% of global homicides due to firearms, yet has 4% percent of the world’s population.
The following regulations will help to protect the public while enabling law-abiding citizens to own and possess firearms:
- mandatory criminal and background checks on all gun purchases
- reference checks, which include interviewing the applicant’s immediate family
- a minimum 60 day waiting period between applying to purchase a gun and possessing it
In addition:
- Guns and ammunition should be stored in locked boxes to prevent access to firearms by children and other ineligible persons
- Support funding research on ‘smart guns’ that can only fire if a fingerprint or PIN has been entered
- Prohibit purchases from unlicensed dealers
- Ban bump stocks, high-capacity magazines, armor-piercing rounds and ghost guns
- Institute a federal buyback program for handguns and assault rifles
Dr. Keith Martin, Executive Director of CUGH said, “when New Zealand, Canada and Australia, were faced with a mass shooting, their politicians acted resolutely and passed gun safety laws that have been extremely effective in reducing mass murders. US politicians are again faced with a choice: protect the public and pass gun safety legislation that is widely supported, or put their own political futures ahead of public safety and do nothing. Citizens can affect change by only voting for politicians who are willing to support the passage of gun safety laws. Gun safety laws protect people’s right to be free from violence. Most nations have them. The US can too.”
For additional information or comments contact Dr. Keith Martin, kmartin@cugh.org.