#ThisIsOurLane - Medical Community Continues Its Fight Against Gun Violence Following Chicago Hospital Shooting

Washington, D.C., November 20, 2018 – Following a mass shooting at a Chicago hospital that killed three people, as well as the gunman, medical professionals across the country are continuing to raise their voices against gun violence. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence released the following statement from Dr. Joseph Sakran, a board member of the organization and Director of Emergency General Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Dr. Sakran created the growing #ThisIsOurLane movement after the NRA posited that doctors need to stop raising their voices about the issue of gun violence. Dr. Sakran is uniquely well qualified to lead this effort as a trauma surgeon and gun violence survivor who survived being shot in the neck at the age of 17.

Dr. Joseph Sakran stated,

“Every day, victims of gun violence flood into my emergency room and into trauma centers all over the country. This public health epidemic can strike anywhere at any time, and last night’s shooting at Chicago’s Mercy Hospital made perfectly clear that, no matter what anyone says, #ThisIsOurLane. Doctors and medical professionals are on the front lines, confronting gun violence in all its horrors on a daily basis and comforting families who must endure the heavy toll of losing precious lives to gun violence. We have a moral imperative to speak out, to do all we can to help members of our communities avoid ever becoming our patients. We will continue to work together and raise our voices as one to create change in communities across America.”

Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign, added,

“From students to parents to business leaders to doctors, we’ve seen people from every corner of society come together in the fight against gun violence. This is an epidemic that touches each and every one of us, but trauma surgeons and emergency doctors, more than most, see the impact of gunshots on an up close and personal basis. When they speak out and tell the public that we can take steps to reduce gun violence in our communities, they are speaking from a position of authority and of a genuine desire to honor their oaths to save lives. So listen to your doctors - they know what’s best.”

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Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.


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