APA, Coalition Partners Demand Immediate Action

In partnership with coalition members and alone, APA vigorously responded to the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and criticized remarks that framed the shooting as a “mental health issue” and referred to people with mental illness in stigmatizing and disparaging terms.

In a press statement issued February 16, APA and four other frontline organizations representing 450,000 physicians and medical student members urged “national leaders to recognize in this moment what the medical community has long understood: we must treat this epidemic no differently than we would any other pervasive threat to public health. We must identify the causes and take evidence-based approaches to prevent future suffering.”

Among other actions, the organizations asked for the appropriation of funding for research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study gun violence and the establishment of constitutionally appropriate restrictions on the manufacturing and sale, for civilian use, of large-capacity magazines and firearms with features designed to increase their rapid and extended killing capacity.

On February 23, APA called on President Trump, Congress, and the country to enter into a meaningful dialogue to improve mental health care in this country. Among the issues APA said need to be addressed are enforcement of the parity law to ensure “timely access to a full range of mental health and substance use disorder providers and services” and increased research funding to improve early detection of mental illness and the development of effective interventions.

“Recent disparaging and inaccurate remarks about mental illness serve only to perpetuate stigma and prohibit honest and open dialogue about an illness or disorder that affects 1 in 5 people in the nation,” APA stated.

In letters sent to all Congress members on February 22, APA and a coalition of 75 health organizations urged enactment of bipartisan solutions that address the public health threat of firearm-related injuries and fatalities.

“Federal policy should address gun violence with the same dedication applied to other successful public health initiatives over the past 25 years, such as immunizations, public sanitation, and motor vehicle safety,” the letter stated. “Reducing injury and mortality through research and evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies has been proven to improve health, safety, and life expectancy. Strengthening firearm background checks and supporting funding for federal research and public health surveillance on firearm-related injuries and fatalities would provide meaningful progress in achieving a public health solution for this issue. … Our organizations stand ready to work with you to support that critical effort. Thank you for your consideration.” ■