This is a survey of 1,060 U.S. pediatricians conducted by AAP (which I figure are associated with AAP but it does not say.) AAP has a long history of being rabidly Anti Gun and the reason laws have been implemented to stop medical practitioners from asking questions about home firearms ownership. Tales of AAP doctors interrogating small children about guns at home without the presence of their parents are well-known.
The American Academy of Pediatrics claims a membership of 60,000 (the American Board of Pediatrics boast 105,856 members and has no anti-gun political agenda that I could find. AAP however has no qualms about going full frontal anti gun politics as you can read in their “American Academy of Pediatrics Gun Violence Policy Recommendations.”
The AAP continues to support a number of specific measures to reduce the destructive effects of guns in the lives of children and adolescents through the implementation of the following recommendations.•Enact a strong, effective assault weapon ban;•Eliminate the gun show loophole and require mandatory background checks andwaiting periods before all firearm purchases;•Ban on high-capacity magazines;•Enact strong handgun regulations; and•Require safe firearm storage under federal law.
So maybe AAP is where Michael Bloomberg got his idea for Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Innocent sounding name hiding the true intentions. If you have kids and a pediatrician, you may want to check if he is a member of AAP and ask him/her if he/she is aware of its politics. Your doctor might be surprised.
A bit skeptical of the numbers, to say the least. Assuming 105,000 doctors and 8,000 kids (7500 wounded, 500 killed, per this article: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/terrible-tally-500-children-dead-gunshots-every-year-7-500-8C11469222), that’s 1 kid per 13 doctors, not accounting for any duplicates in high-crime areas. But using the NBC article, a “kid” is anyone 20 years or younger. Wait, what!?!
Granted, the link to the survey doesn’t detail the methodology, so we’re in the dark with that one. And I don’t feel like trying to pull that data from the FBI site, but it wouldn’t be the first time a survey was generous with the definition of “child”.
Get back to me with the following data set, and then we’ll talk: 17 and younger counts as “kids”, and then also indicate how many of those were accidental vs. intentional (i.e. gang related, self-defense, etc.).
I have seen it divided as 0 to 13 and then 14 to 24 in some cases. In others is to 19.
AAP administers the testing that is required for a pediatrician to be “board-certified”, the professional recognition that one has completed the training and is maintaining the knowledge necessary to practice the specialty. Most hospitals and provider groups require it as a condition of employment. Having the backing of the board also gives less ammunition to the plaintiff’s lawyer if one is sued.
Your doctor may disagree with the policies and idiocies of the AAP yet be obligated to join in order to maintain her licensing.
Just FYI before you fire your doctor based on her membership in a group she really doesn’t want to be a part of.
[…] Remember, the American Academy of Pediatrics is the enemy. If you’re a doctor, and a gun owner (and there are a lot of you out there) I wouldn’t associate with these groups. Here’s more on the left-wing medical establishment and guns from Howard Nemerov. […]