To our beloved community,
 
We, the many physicians of Newton, have deep concerns about a gun shop being opened at 709 Washington Avenue in Newtonville, MA. We represent  a wide range of medical specialties, from every hospital in the local metropolitan area and we see a wide gamut of diseases. However, the sad truth is that professionally, we have all been affected by gun violence. We have all seen the devastation these weapons cause: death, life-long disabilities, and families ripped apart. We have managed the wounded and dying in the emergency department, amputated limbs and repaired devastating injuries in the ORs, and managed the lifelong physical and psychological damage in our primary care and psychiatric offices. We are motivated to speak out now because we have seen directly that which the most of the public has not. Gun violence is nothing like the depictions we see on television; it is devastating and permanent. Gun violence is a public health crisis.  It affects us as physicians, it affects our patients, it affects our communities and families. Despite the NRA declaring us to stay in our lane, nothing could be more in our lane as physicians.
 
This is why we, the cosigned physicians, have decided to write this letter in firm and unanimous opposition to the opening of Newton Firearms. More readily available guns from a local dealer will mean more guns in our Newton homes. We know that there is a direct correlation to the number of guns available in homes and the number of homicides and suicides. Each year, nearly 500 people die from unintentional firearm injuries. The majority of people killed in firearm accidents are under age 24, and most of these young people are shot by someone else, usually someone their own age.  The shooter is typically a friend or family member, often an older brother.
 
Given the current pandemic and the increasing mental health crisis that we find ourselves in as a result of the pandemic, it would be dangerous for there to be more access to guns in our neighborhood. Recent polling in Michigan showed that 46% of parents reported that their teenager had shown signs of increased depression or anxiety since the pandemic started. In a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, people who owned handguns had rates of suicide that were nearly four times higher than people living in the same neighborhood who did not own handguns. Making more guns available with the current crisis is illogical and will certainly lead to loss of life.
 
The most tragic of all is the location of this store. It is located within 1 mile of 7 schools, and a half mile from two elementary schools. We are currently in the midst of an epidemic of school shootings. From 2009-2019, there were 180 school shootings with 356 victims. Do we really want to see our children and families next on the national news? Opening this store in this location seems to ignore current events and endanger our children.
 
We physicians have gone into medicine to do whatever it takes to extend and promote healthier and fuller lives. Yet we live in a country that has more guns than people (source Economist). It is time for us to say “Enough.” Stop the violence. We don’t need a gun store in Newton. The proliferation of guns in our community directly contradicts everything that we work for in medicine. Our communities will not be safer, and our local hospitals will end up seeing more victims of gun violence.  We implore you to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of our community and our patients.  


Sincerely,