Editorial

Michael P. Hirsh, MD,FACS, FAAP

It is with mixed emotions that I have the honor of serving as the guest Editor of this edition of Worcester Medicine about Gun Violence in America. That’s because after more than 40 years working in the gun violence prevention field, our country has been marching backward with rising levels of gun violence each year. In 2021 alone there were 49,000 gun fatalities (63% of which were suicides), with more than twice that many injured. And as we are increasingly recognizing that witnessing or living in fear of gun violence has its own effects that can lead to mental illness, depression or parasuicidal behavior. Still, there is a major division in our country regarding how gun ownership affects these horrible stats -- with some Southern and Western states making it easier than ever to buy, carry, and even open carry firearms while the North and West Coast generally do a better job of regulating gun ownership. Middle ground has been hard to come by.

I came to be involved in this area of injury prevention when one of my fellow surgical co-residents was gunned down at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center on November 2, 1981. Just as I have done with all my work in this field--including the Worcester Goods for Guns Gun Buyback Program, which has collected over 4000 weapons from the streets of Worcester County--I dedicate this edition of Worcester Medicine Magazine to the memory of John Chase Wood, II, MD.

In this edition, we are featuring a wide breadth of opinions and programs to highlight the issues and controversies that cause this public health crisis to seemingly be an insoluble problem. I thank all the contributors for sharing their approaches and expertise.

Michael P. Hirsh, MD, FACS, FAAP is Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School, Director of Pediatric Injury Prevention, founder of Worcester Good for Guns Gun Buyback Program, and Medical Director for the Worcester Division of Public Health.