During its board meeting on October 20, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians adopted a position of strong support for Senate Bill (SB) 221, a proposal to implement Governor DeWine’s STRONG Ohio initiative. In adopting the position, the board noted that gun violence is a public health issue. While SB 221 falls far short in doing what needs done to prevent gun violence, it is, at least, a step in the right direction.
In a letter to all 132 members of the Ohio General Assembly, OAFP President Anna McMaster, MD, stated, “As front-line caregivers, we witness first-hand the role firearms play in suicide, domestic violence, homicide/violent crime, mass shootings, and unintentional death and injury. Gun violence is an epidemic that needs to be addressed now with research and evidence-based strategies.”
- Comprehensive criminal background checks for all firearms purchased;
- Research to improve understanding of causes and consequences of firearm-related injury and death and to identify, test, and implement strategies to reduce firearms-related injuries and death;
- Addition of dating partners, stalkers, or individuals who commit violence against another family member to the categories of people prohibited by federal law from buying firearms;
- Laws that hold firearms owners accountable for negligently storing firearms;
- Improved access to mental health care paired with safeguards against broadly prohibiting all individuals with a mental health or substance use disorder from purchasing firearms;
- Enactment of extreme risk protection order laws;
- Protection of confidential patient-physician communication on issues that affect their health, including counseling at-risk patients about mitigating the risks associated with firearms in the home and firearms safety; and
- Constitutionally appropriate policies that effectively address high-capacity magazines and firearms with features designed to increase their rapid and extended killing capacity.
The OAFP board also stated its support for both this call for action and the AAFP’s position paper on the prevention of gun violence.