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Report Suggests that Doctors are a Leading Cause of Death

Friday, May 13, 2016

Report Suggests that Doctors are a Leading Cause of Death

Groups claiming to speak for the medical profession have long criticized America’s gun culture in general and NRA in particular. Besides supporting an array of gun controls and suggesting that firearms do not belong in the same communities as children, the groups bewail limitations on the use of public funding for supposed “studies” that in reality are thinly-disguised advocacy pieces with preordained anti-gun conclusions. Even fictional doctors have been coopted into gun control efforts.

But a recent analysis by researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine published in BMJ shockingly concludes that medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. (behind only heart disease and cancer), accounting for more than 250,000 fatalities a year. This is almost ten times the number of annual deaths attributable to firearms, including the some 20,000 that occur by suicide.

Perhaps even more ironically, the study (as an NPR report put it), “highlights how shortcomings in tracking vital statistics may hinder research and keep the problem out of the public eye.” According to the report, the coding system used by the Centers for Disease Control to record death certificate data “doesn't capture things like communication breakdowns, diagnostic errors and poor judgment that cost lives.” The lead author of the Johns Hopkins study, Dr. Martin Makary, claims that this deficit leads to a “vast underrecognition of the place of medical care as the cause of death,” which in turn, “informs all our national health priorities and our research grants.”

So even as doctors are reportedly making mistakes, killing hundreds of thousands of people as a result, and obscuring that fact with faulty data,
they’re pointing the finger at Second Amendment advocates for what their self-appointed spokespersons claim is an epidemic of gun violence. They also criticize Second Amendment supporters for being “anti-science” and supposedly trying to ”muzzle” doctor/patient communication.

That’s ironic, to say the least.

We recognize that medicine has a noble pedigree and purpose, and the miracles of modern healthcare generally lead to better lives for all Americans. Most of us have good relationships with our doctors and appreciate the excellent work they do to save and improve quality of life.

But as a frequent target of high-handed scorn from self-important physicians, we would simply reiterate a point we have made many times in the past. Doctors
should stay out of the firearm debate -- where they have little subject matter or public policy expertise to contribute -- and tend to their own business.

If the BMJ study has any validity,
there is plenty of room for improvement in their own hospitals and clinics, and the potential to save lives with reform in those contexts far outstrips the potential to save lives with politically-motivated gun control. We hope the BMJ study and the publicity it has generated will lead the medical profession to reexamine its priorities and focus inwardly to “first, do no harm,” before pointing the finger at NRA and others who are committed to protecting the Second Amendment. 

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Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

So much of the energy surrounding the digital currency space has been aimed at bringing forth a new liberty. 

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

It was a standard talking point of the Biden White House that violent crime had dropped by record levels under the Biden-Harris administration, attributed in part to its support of gun control measures.

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

At this point, anybody who reads NRA-ILA’s Grassroots Alerts even sporadically is well aware of the shameless, anti-gun self-promoter David Hogg. 

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Monday, October 13, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members—filed a lawsuit challenging California’s Glock ban.

Colorado Joins States in Promoting Use of Red Flag Laws

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Colorado Joins States in Promoting Use of Red Flag Laws

First there were the red flag laws themselves, dangerous laws allowing for the seizure of firearms while bypassing a citizen’s right to due process. 

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Massachusetts: Hunting Ammunition Restrictions on Agenda for Committee Hearing Tomorrow

Monday, October 20, 2025

Massachusetts: Hunting Ammunition Restrictions on Agenda for Committee Hearing Tomorrow

On Tuesday, October 21st, the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will hold a hearing on dozens of hunting-related bills, including two bills aiming to restrict ammunition. 

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

Maine: Republicans and Democrats Agree, Red Flag is BAD for Maine

Monday, October 20, 2025

Maine: Republicans and Democrats Agree, Red Flag is BAD for Maine

We are only 15 DAYS out from Election Day, have you made your plan to vote NO on Question 2?

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.