NAMME Position Statement on Assault Weapons
NAMME, Inc. Assault Weapons 1 Statement
Without a doubt, there is an epidemic of shootings using assault weapons in this country. The NRA lobby holds that any act restricting access to or restriction of use is an infringement of Second Amendment.[2] Proposals to ban assault weapons do not ban non-automatic weapons.
According to a December 2012 Washington Post article, semiautomatic rifles[3] have been used in some of the country’s deadliest shootings, such as those in Newtown, Orlando, San Bernardino and Las Vegas. The AR-15, a lightweight, customizable version of the military’s M16, soared in popularity after a 10-year federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004. Some of the Las Vegas shooter’s guns had been fitted with legal devices called “bump-fire stocks,” which allow semiautomatic rifles to fire as quickly as automatic ones. Although shootings in schools and houses of worship make up a relatively small portion of mass shootings, we cannot deny the trauma such incidents cause for adults and children in communities across the nation.
Action required by the board.
RESOLVED: The National Board of NAMME joins other health care professions associations[4] in seeking a (renewed) ban on assault weapons by individual citizens.
RESOLVED: We further decry proposals to arm teachers and endorse the position of the National Education Association against arming teachers with guns.[5]
RESOLVED: We urge our membership to contact/write their congress members(via phone, email, letter, or assembly) to state their desire to renew the assault weapons ban; and not to arm teachers.
[1] Any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms; especially: assault rifle. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
[2] The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/mass-shootings-in-america/?utm_term=.13ef281f0ad4
[4] Professional Associations Working on Gun Violence Prevention. Many professional associations have sections, workgroups, and other efforts dedicated to this issue. Add your voice to your specialty’s existing efforts or initiate action yourself. Look also for field-specific sign-on letters from professional and advocacy organizations including the American Public Health Association, American Medical Association, and Doctors for America, which help to amplify a unified call-to-action from the health care community. http://efsgv.org/how-you-can-help/public-health-professionals/
[5] Arming Teachers is Not the Answer http://neatoday.org/2018/03/05/arming-teachers/
