Esther Choo Hits Back at NRA for Saying Doctors Should ‘Stay in Their Lane’ About Guns
By Carl Samson
November 13, 2018
Emergency room doctor and diversity advocate Esther Choo retaliated against the National Rifle Association (NRA) for claiming that doctors have been publishing anti-gun articles without consulting anyone but themselves.
In a tweet last week, the pro-gun non-profit claimed that “half of the articles” published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine pushed for gun control, citing its own article that criticized a position paper from the American College of Physicians (ACP) reflecting “every anti-gunner’s public policy wish list, save for the outsized role given to doctors.”
“Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control,” the NRA wrote. “Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves.”
The tweet has stirred discussions since its posting, with over 21,000 comments and counting.
Dr. Choo, who is currently affiliated with the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), snapped back at the NRA’s statement, alongside other physicians who asserted that gun control is very much “in our lane.”
“We are not self-important: we are important to the care of others. We are not anti-gun: we are anti-bullet holes in our patients. We consult with everyone but extremists. Most upsetting, actually, is death and disability from gun violence that is unparalleled in the world,” Dr. Choo responded.
In its article, the NRA argued that the ACP misuses “evidence,” pointing out that the medical organization “cites ‘studies’ that wouldn’t qualify as ‘evidence’ in any other debate” in its policy recommendations.
“This position paper leaves one wondering if the authors reviewed the evidence, or just found works that suited their needs,” the NRA wrote. “For all of the bluster about their own important role in the anti-gun movement and all of the misuse of research findings, the ACP makes one thing clear: they respect their own rights and opinions far more than they do those of law-abiding gun owners.”
Dr. Choo is only one of a slew of physicians slamming the NRA on social media. Many lashed out at the pro-gun group for its apparent failure to comprehend the devastating implications of firearms from the medical perspective.
Featured Images via Twitter / Esther Choo MD MPH
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