Gun Safety: A Call to License Arms

The culture of safety that has developed for automobiles has been no mistake. Decades of advocacy from a plurality of voices were required to implement the intrinsic (e.g. seatbelts and airbags) and regulatory (e.g. speed limits and blood alcohol concentration limits) safety measures that have reduced the rate of vehicular fatalities by 90% since 1925. 1 The gradual change occurred through grassroots organizing, political action and increased industry standardization. This public health achievement creates a helpful case for car safety that can be applied to the current debate on guns.

Duke Scholars

Author Ryan Martin Kane Medicine, General Internal Medicine