Statement attributable to:
Omar T. Atiq, MD, FACP
President, ACP
WASHINGTON August 9, 2023 – The American College of Physicians (ACP) is relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court decided yesterday to allow federal regulations on “ghost guns” to remain in place while the regulations are being challenged in court. When the Biden administration released these regulations, we called them “a critical step to stop the flow of untraceable weapons to individuals legally prohibited from possessing firearms.”
ACP has long called attention to the public health threat of firearms-related injuries and deaths. Physicians all too often come face-to-face with the tragedy of the gun violence epidemic. The rate of injuries and deaths related to firearms shines a light on the glaring insufficiency of firearm policy in the U.S. That is why ACP has called for common sense policies to tackle the public health crisis of firearms-related deaths and injuries for nearly 30 years.
As the case regarding these regulations moves into appeal, we call on the court to allow them to remain in place permanently. These regulations are an important step in beginning to reduce firearms-related deaths and injuries, but still more needs to be done to end the scourge of firearms violence.
More about ACP’s positions on preventing firearms-related injuries and deaths can be found at www.acponline.org/firearms.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 160,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org