American College of Surgeons sides with the Gun Banners.

The American College of Surgeons, in an amazing emotional, non-scientific knee jerk reaction to the recent shootings, has revised its policy statement on guns, and is now in full support of Obama's anti-gun agenda. The new policy calls for a ban on so-called assault weapons and high capacity magazines, as well as calls for a mandatory background check on private gun sales.

The American College of Surgeons is the leading organization in the US representing surgeons. It has previously held fairly conservative views, at least compared to more liberal medical groups like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It has always stood by the idea of advancing medicine through science, until now. Now, it seems to have abandoned reason and scientific evidence in favor of emotion and politics. We have already had an assault weapon ban in the US, and the FBI concluded that it made no impact on crime. There is no scientific evidence that would support the idea that a new AWB would be more effective.

The ACS made this decision arbitrarily. The decision was made by its Officers and Board of Regents. The rank and file membership was not consulted, there was no vote from the membership, nor was their even any discussion that such a policy statement was being contemplated. There was no protest movement from within the ACS, because this decision was made behind closed doors and without the consent of the membership.

The policy statement is:

[ST-12] Statement on Firearm Injuries

(Revised January 2013)

[by the American College of Surgeons]

The following revised Statement on Firearm Injuries was approved in January 2013 by the Officers of the American College of Surgeons and its Board of Regents. It replaces the February 2000 statement that was developed by the Committee on Trauma and approved by the College's Board of Regents—that statement replaced an initial statement addressing firearm injuries developed in 1991.

Because violence inflicted by guns continues to be a daily event in the United States and mass casualties involving firearms threaten the health and safety of the public, the American College of Surgeons supports:

Legislation banning civilian access to assault weapons, large ammunition clips, and munitions designed for military and law enforcement agencies.
Enhancing mandatory background checks for the purchase of firearms to include gun shows and auctions.
Ensuring that health care professionals can fulfill their role in preventing firearm injuries by health screening, patient counseling, and referral to mental health services for those with behavioral medical conditions.
Developing and promoting proactive programs directed at improving safe gun storage and the teaching of non-violent conflict resolution for a culture that often glorifies guns and violence in media and gaming.
Evidence-based research on firearm injury and the creation of a national firearm injury database to inform federal health policy.

Here is my rebuttal letter:

I have been a member of the American College of Surgeons since 1997. I have previously considered it an honor and a privilege to be part of this group. Today, I am quite unhappy with the group. I have recently become aware of the fact that the ACS has issued a politically based policy statement that supports banning certain weapons which have previously been protected by the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution.

I am at a loss as to why the ACS would make such a politically based, non-scientific policy statement. The ACS should not engage in controversial political topics such as this. The leadership of the ACS does not have the legal and political expertise to make recommendations such as this. I do not feel the leadership understands the Constitutional implications of such a recommendation. Additionally, we have already had an assault weapon ban in the US which expired in 2004. By FBI statistics, this ban made no significant impact on crime. Why would the ACS therefore recommend another? This is not an evidence based recommendation. You degrade the reputation of surgeons as evidence based decision makers by engaging in absurd policy statements like this.

The decision to engage in left wing political pandering such as this will surely fragment the American College of Surgeons. If it continues with this kind of non-sense, it will lose membership. I find it unacceptable that the Board of Regents would issue a divisive political statement on behalf of the organization. The rank and file membership had no vote in this. We do not consent. We did not even realize the ACS was considering such a recommendation. We have had no input in this process.

I would request that the American College of Surgeons immediately and unequivocally rescind this policy statement and apologize to its membership.

Also, please be aware that in order to combat the nonsense that the ACS has chosen to engage, I am donating the equivalent of several years worth of ACS dues to the National Rifle Association today. The National Rifle Association reflects my views on the Second Amendment, and the American College of Surgeons clearly does not.

I would request that this email be forwarded to the Chairman, the Board of Regents, the Board of Governors, and the Officers of the American College of Surgeons

Sincerely,"

If the AMA makes a similar statement, I'm rescinding my membership and donating to the NRA as well, even though I just did.

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They already have, multiple times. I withdrew membership in the AMA when they supported the first AWB and declared handguns to be a public health crisis, and called for banning them. The AMA is a left wing organization and less than half of US doctors are members. I encourage you to immediately resign membership.