Washington, DC – June 11: Erica Ford speaks during March about our lives 2022 on June 11th 2022 at … more
The previous General Surgeon Dr. Vivek Murty issued a advisory On the violence of firearms in America, stating the crisis of public health. This should not be surprising, as there were 503 mass shootings in America in 2024, which is more than one day according to File.
I was fortunate enough to mitigate an expert debate about preventing firearms in Washington at the 2024 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. Here are five key solutions that the team emerged to help fight violence by firearms.
Facing the main causes of violence
Firearms violence has so much rootsBut it often comes from social decisive factors such as poverty, unemployment and systematic inequalities. Policy -executives and government officials need to make education more accessible, extend employment opportunities and allow housing to be accessible to mitigate the conditions that enhance violence.
Dr. Zachary Meisel, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said: “We really have to think holistically, upstairs about the main causes of violence, but also downstream of interventions that can really change the trajectory of firearms.” Without dealing with the roots of violence, long -term solutions and improvements can never be carried out.
Investment in community interventions and programs
Firearms violence is now the leading cause of death for young people in America, disproportionately affecting people of color, especially in urban areas. Community -based violent intervention programs can make a huge dent in prevention of violence as it was in some major cities in all US programs They have led to a 63% reduction in firearm guns in southern Bronx and a 43% reduction in weapon -related deaths in Richmond, California.
The programs hire trained community members to mediate conflict and prevent violence, which can help reduce shooting. Investing in these programs can prove to be critical to prevent so many common tragedies attributed to firearms.
By supporting legislative reform
Complete history checks will always be a pillar to prevent violence. States that have laws that require personal applications and fingerprints before buying firearms have reduced rates of homicide and suicide from firearms compared to states without such laws. In addition, the licensing requirement for firearms ownership, including compulsory safety training, ensures that only persons can have access to weapons.
It can of course be difficult to pass the legislation in relation to weapons, given how strongly America is divided by the right to carry weapons.
Stefanie Feldman, previous director of the White House Prevention Office, under the prevention of President Biden, said: “The mobilization of people on specific issues and are willing to work with people who may agree on a piece of puzzle, even though they do not agree with them … Every life saved things ”.
Extension of Mental Health Resources
The effects of violence by the weapon affect not only those who die, but also the many more surviving, as well as the family and friends of those who survive. The spiritual trauma arising from these events can lead to not only anxiety and depression, but also the constant fear that it could happen again.
While the majority of people with mental conditions are not violent, enhanced access to mental health services can play a critical role in reducing suicides by firearms that represent the majority death from firearms in the US
Strategies to expand mental health resources include increasing funding for mental health care, integrating mental health and sorting violence into usual health visits and crisis intervention programs.
Enhance the research and data collection
Science and public health are based on data and research. Innovation and change in science are driven by data that support or refute ideas and assumptions. The data collected from this research can update policies and interventions based on evidence to reduce and prevent arms violence.
Firearms violence can be entirely precautionary and many high -income countries have much lower rates than America. Although many Americans remain divided into the issue of using firearms, the overwhelming majority want safe and secure communities.
Like Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, she said: “I have spoken to some people who have a very different policy than I do and we are able to reach a deal together … and you are starting there and you are building it.”
