—Bill Durston, MD
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ACEP Now: Vol 35 – No 08 – August 2016Dr. Kaplan Responds
Dr. Durston,
In response to your allegation that my reaction to the Orlando mass shooting was inane and is an embarrassment to you, I must respond. The statement to which you refer was written and released immediately after the shooting. It was meant to express my prayers for those who were hurt and killed as well as what ACEP was doing in an attempt to have our communities be better prepared in the future.
If you saw any of my public statements in multiple news organizations that followed those initial words, some of which were video-recorded, you would see that I also called gun-related violence a public health catastrophe and shared my personal sentiment that much more must be done by our federal legislators. I even traveled to Washington, D.C., on June 17, catching a 5:40 a.m. flight after working a clinical shift until 11:30 p.m. the night before in order to speak to a group of 40 legislative aides gathered by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer to talk about what we should do together to stem this plethora of mass-casualty incidents. A video captured after that talk is available on ACEP.org.
At times, I have had to indicate that I have personal sentiments (which I elucidated) that differ from a significant number of ACEP members. While you criticize me for not doing enough, I have been condemned by some ACEP members for calling firearm-related violence a public health crisis and for saying too much. Please remember that I must represent all of our members. We have had vigorous debates at our Council meeting about ACEP’s position on this issue, and I expect that we will have many more. A change in our “Firearm Safety and Injury Prevention” clinical policy has come before the Board, and a workgroup is being put together to ensure appropriate revisions. I will certainly share your name with Becky Parker, MD, FACEP, who will be assuming the ACEP presidency in mid-October and will be watching over those deliberations.
If you saw any of my public statements in multiple news organizations that followed those initial words, some of which were video-recorded, you would see that I called gun-related violence a public health catastrophe and shared my personal sentiment that much more must be done by our federal legislators. —Jay Kaplan, MD, FACEP, president of ACEP
I have reiterated ACEP’s 2013 policy, which includes the following:
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2 Responses to “Opinion: ACEP Now Reader Responds to Statement on Orlando Mass Shooting, and ACEP President Dr. Jay Kaplan Replies”
August 23, 2016
Gene GarberSo this guy walks in an ER……says he’s a consultant. We all assume a highly paid chaturbate with a lot of self-imposed thought-leading medical consultantry. The big advice he gave us. Stop chewing gum and get rid of your ugly green scrubs….or at least iron them. Needless to say, by following those two actions, our ER is now the crown jewel of our hospital. All the sub-specialists brown-nose our attendings. The CEO/President mentions us in every newsletter and hands out Kudos awards to all of us for our service and apparel. The consultant was none other than Jay Kaplan.
October 22, 2016
Timothy Wheeler, MDWell, since Dr. Kaplan has gone so far as to meet with House minority leaders whose gun control creds are well-known, and since Dr. Durston is using this space to recruit doctors to his gun prohibition group, perhaps I should inform readers that there is an alternative to joining the public health gun prohibition movement.
Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership as a nationwide group of physicians, medical students, scientists, and other health professionals who support responsible gun ownership. We are champions, not enemies, of the civil right of gun ownership. We invite all physicians to join us in our effort to counter the public health assault on gun owners.
Timothy Wheeler, MD
Director
Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership
A Project of the Second Amendment Foundation