ANA Action Alert: Tell Congress to act now to let CDC study gun violence

Nurses live to heal. In moments of tragedy like the murders in Orlando, "an army of nurses" treated patients, helped everyone they could, and undoubtedly helped save lives.¹

Our community works to prevent suffering every day – but until we start treating gun violence like the public health epidemic it is, we will not be able to save more lives.

Another toddler will find an unlocked gun and hurt himself. Another young woman will struggle through a painful recovery after being shot by her boyfriend. Another angry person with a gun will lash out. Another life will be lost to gun violence. Dozens every day. Nurses will fight to help each and every one, no matter what.

But despite what we all see every day, there's still no data-driven, rigorous scientific study to guide the public health response to gun violence, because Congress keeps blocking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from studying the causes and impacts of gun violence.²

Take action now: Congress must unshackle the health care community by letting the CDC study gun violence. We can't keep pretending that gun violence isn't a public health crisis.

Registered nurses in emergency departments and clinics across the country are called upon to care for victims of mass shootings, homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings. From ORs to offices, from clinics to classrooms, nurses know how much harm is caused by gun violence in America. And the worst part is that gun violence is preventable.

Some politicians will say that this is simply our reality. But they don't have to look into the eyes of patients dying of gunshot wounds. They aren't the ones who have to comfort grieving families who have lost a loved one. They don't have to live with the physical and emotional consequences of these senseless acts.

I cannot make this clear enough: this is not normal, and this is not acceptable. America is facing a full-blown public health crisis, and we can't ignore it any longer. If you agree, please take action right now and tell Congress to let the CDC study gun violence.

Stopping epidemics requires data and research. Investing in the CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System will let doctors, nurses, and researchers understand the epidemic and ensure we are developing meaningful prevention strategies.

There's more Congress must do to reduce gun violence. ANA supports a ban on military-style assault weapons, enhancing background checks, and instituting waiting periods. Those steps would see fewer men, women, and children showing up at our hospitals and clinics with gunshot wounds. They would save lives.

If you're angry, if you're grieving, if you're feeling powerless, make sure this is the turning point for our country.

Call on Congress now: Tell them to stop blocking the CDC from conducting life-saving research on gun violence.

Thank you for lending your voice,

Michelle Artz
Director, Government Affairs
American Nurses Association

References

1. Los Angeles Times: At an Orlando hospital, the victims kept coming – but so did an army of nurses, 6/14/2016

2. Washington Post, Why the CDC still isn't researching gun violence, despite the ban being lifted two years ago, 1/14/2015