A Pediatrician's View on Gun Violence

by ParentCo. July 19, 2016

Pediatricians view guns and violence as a public health issue, which means talking to parents about how to keep their children safe, and looking for strategies — technological, behavioral and legal — to make everyone safer.

As sample safety measures, Dr. Fleegler brought up good safety locks, or even biometric safes, which can be opened only by the right person’s fingerprints, as well as the possibility of safe repositories where people could store guns outside their homes, either temporarily or permanently.

Dr. Begg said it’s important that pediatricians have the opportunity to talk to parents who are gun owners.

“I would never tell a parent, you can’t own a gun; what I would tell a parent is, you should make an informed choice knowing the facts, knowing your family situation,” he said. “I think if people understood the data, many people would make a different choice.”

Source: A Pediatrician's View on Gun Violence and Children - The New York Times


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