American Medical Student Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 6, 2013

AMSA Proud of Being Placed on NRA Enemies List

Sterling, VA—The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation’s largest independent association of physicians-in-training, is proud of recently being placed on the National Rifle Association (NRA) “enemies list” and is urging its members to sign a petition that pushes the Obama administration and Congress to adopt a comprehensive strategy to limit gun violence and protect public health.

The list – National Organizations with Anti-Gun Policies – is published by the gun lobby’s political arm, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

“We're proud to advocate for the reduction of violence, for stricter gun legislation, for the protection of Americans against violent gun crime,” says Elizabeth Wiley, MD, JD, MPH. “As future physicians, we urge Congress to act now and help us reduce the number of patients we will see who are victims of senseless gun tragedies.”

“It’s hard to believe that gun safety isn’t a medical issue when you are on the team taking care of a 3 year old with a bullet in her lung,” says Shahram Ahari, MPH, a senior medical student at UC-Davis School of Medicine.

At AMSA’s Annual Convention, March 14-17, members will vote on updated policy that includes universal background checks for all new gun purchases, criminalization of gun trafficking, and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Please join AMSA by signing the petition to President Obama and members of Congress. The numbers are staggering: of the 16,000 homicides in 2010, more than 11,000 were due to firearms. Read more and sign the petition here.