AAP leaders have called for firearm injury prevention to be a top priority for the year, placing three related resolutions in the top 10 during the Annual Leadership Forum (ALF).
The resolutions approved last weekend ask the Academy’s Board of Directors to advocate for schools remaining gun-free and for allowing guns to be seized from people who have been adjudicated as a threat. Members also called for a national campaign to promote safe gun storage. Resolutions are not binding but serve as advice to the Board on the direction of policies and procedures.
The votes came just as the Academy announced it is launching the Gun Safety and Injury Prevention Research Initiative that will bring together experts from around the country to study and implement evidence-based interventions to protect children from firearm injuries.
“Children are being injured and killed by guns every day across all communities large and small, rural and urban, poor and rich,” said AAP CEO/Executive Vice President Karen Remley, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., FAAP. “I was happy to see our leaders take such a strong stand to stop this epidemic as well as to confront other pressing issues pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists and their patients are facing.”
Other top 10 resolutions address suicide prevention, marijuana regulations and autism therapy.
Following are the top 10 resolutions, which can be viewed in more detail at http://bit.ly/2GNfYIV:
- Schools as Gun-Free Zones – Arming Teachers is not the Answer!
- Creation of a Suicide Prevention Task Force and Resources for Pediatricians, Healthcare Organizations, Schools, and Community Organizations Who Serve Children and Adolescents
- Gun Restraining Order
- The AAP Setting the Standards for Marijuana Regulations
- Funding and Support for Autism Therapy
- Granting Candidate Fellows the Right to Vote in AAP Elections
- Increasing Immunization Rates by Universal Access to Immunizations
- Promotion of Safe Gun Storage
- Advocating for Universal and Affordable Contraception
- Opioid Prescription Policy Statement
ALF brings together chapter, committee, council and section leaders from around the country, drawing on their diverse perspectives and expertise to advise the AAP Board of Directors. The event also provides leadership education and promotes networking and understanding of AAP priorities.
Prior to the forum, AAP groups and members submitted resolutions for consideration and members were able to comment on them online. The top resolutions were voted on by only 73% of the 205 eligible voting members present at the forum.
The top 10 resolutions will be referred to areas of the Academy with related expertise for a review of potential action.
To learn about the Academy’s efforts to address the 2017 resolutions, visit http://bit.ly/2HOxPyr.
Look to the May issue of AAP News for additional coverage of the 2018 ALF.
