In a response to the National Rifle Association, doctors have released an editorial calling for more research on the number of injuries and deaths related to firearms.
NRA Vs. Anti-Gun Doctors
The feud started earlier this month when the NRA posted a tweet, telling anti-gun doctors to "stay on their lane." The active organization said that there are several articles in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a journal for the medical community, pushing for gun control. However, the active organization argued that the authors did not speak to "but themselves."
The tweet was posted hours before the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks, California. The tragic event took the lives of 12 people, some of whom are college students.
The tweet immediately garnered attention, most of which from the medical community. Doctors and nurses sent back photos showing the aftermath of hospital scrubs and floors with blood from victims of gun violence. They used the hashtag #ThisIsMyLane.
Gun Violence Research Needed
On Tuesday, Nov. 20, the medical community pushed back with an editorial where authors discussed why they consider easy access to firearms a health issue. Authors emphasized that people who become victims of accidental gun-related injuries nearly always require acute medical care, with many having chronic injury-related health issues. For example, nearly 40 percent of patients who attempted to commit suicide using a gun return to their primary care provider within a month.
"Recognizing these risks and counseling to reduce them is clearly 'in our lane,'" the authors wrote. "These responsibilities are not only in doctors' lane, they are our job. Consequently, so is advocating for policies that reduce firearm injury and conducting research to better inform policies to keep our patients safer."
The authors also announced that the Annals of Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians are partnering with the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine or AFFIRM to provide funding for research that tackles issues involving firearm injuries and how to prevent them.
In addition, AFFIRM will sponsor the development of science-backed practice recommendations and training to implement them.
CNN asked the NRA for a response, but the organization, which celebrated it 147 years this weekend, has not issued a statement yet.
