The American College of Physicians updated its position on firearms in a policy paper published Oct. 30 in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The medical group first published its gun violence policy in 2014, listing nine evidence-based strategies to reduce firearm-related injuries and deaths. The updated policy keeps six of the original recommendations.
The new recommendations include support for:
- Laws prohibiting people with a history of domestic violence from purchasing firearms
- Extreme risk prevention laws that allow family members to request an immediate court order to take guns away from individuals at risk of harming themselves or others
- Safe gun storage laws
ACP also reaffirmed its call to ban the sale of assault weapons to civilians.
"The U.S. has one of the highest rates of gun violence in the world, and as physicians, we have a responsibility to advocate for firearms measures that will keep our patients and their families safe and healthy," ACP President Ana María López, MD, said in a press release. "Laws to keep guns away from domestic violence offenders and those who are at imminent risk of harming themselves and others are urgently needed."