Physicians Should Play a Role in Ensuring Safe Firearm Ownership

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Ethics
• Gun Violence Prevention

Background:

• The USA faces a high rate of firearm violence, exacerbated by political divisiveness hindering safety strategy implementation.
• There is consensus that firearms should be restricted from individuals with criminal intent or medical impairment.
• Assessing medical impairment is a viable strategy for firearm violence prevention, unlike predicting criminal intent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a framework for physicians to contribute to firearm violence prevention through specialized medical evaluations.
• To explore the role of physicians in assessing medical impairment as a prerequisite for gun ownership.

Main Methods:

• Training a subset of physicians to conduct specialized medical evaluations for gun ownership.
• Utilizing objective, skill-based metrics in evaluations to minimize evaluator bias.
• Integrating evaluation results into existing regulatory frameworks for decision-making.

Main Results:

• Physician-led medical evaluations offer a structured approach to identifying individuals with medical impairments that may disqualify them from gun ownership.
• This model leverages existing physician expertise in public safety assessments (e.g., for pilots, drivers).

Conclusions:

• Physician involvement in medical evaluations for gun ownership can address public health concerns within existing legal structures.
• This approach provides a mechanism for objective assessment of medical fitness for firearm possession, potentially reducing gun violence.