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Firearm Legislation and Advocacy

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Pediatric Firearm Injuries and Fatalities

Abstract

In the wake of the recent growth in firearm markets and relaxation of firearm laws in the US, it is increasingly important to assess how pediatric clinicians and healthcare workers can effectively engage in firearm injury prevention advocacy as a strategy for combatting the public health crisis of firearm-related deaths. This chapter first explores recent changes in firearm commerce, legislation, and culture that render the need for more urgent advocacy. It then discusses how health care professionals have advocated for measures that reduce firearm violence and injury thus far. Finally, this chapter describes various advocacy opportunities that might be uniquely effective for pediatric clinicians, including counseling parents and patients about firearm safety and safe storage, collaborating with community organizations and coalitions, and engaging in legislative advocacy. This chapter concludes by suggesting that such advocacy efforts are urgently needed in both a practical and ethical sense.

After Parkland, Indiana’s 2018 gun bills tanked. A year later, it’s an argument for them

By Kaitlin Lange and Arika Herron

February 12, 2019. The Indianapolis Star

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The National Firearms Act, passed in 1934, regulates certain firearms, requiring that purchasers pay a $200 tax and register regulated firearms. These forms include applications to make NFA firearms, tax exempt transfers between licensees, tax-paid transfers, tax-exempt transfers, and exported NFA firearms.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maurer School of Law, Center for Law, Society, & Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Jody Lyneé Madeira

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  1. Jody Lyneé Madeira
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Correspondence to Jody Lyneé Madeira .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Lois K. Lee

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Eric W. Fleegler

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Madeira, J.L. (2021). Firearm Legislation and Advocacy. In: Lee, L.K., Fleegler, E.W. (eds) Pediatric Firearm Injuries and Fatalities . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62245-9_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62245-9_13

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