Gun violence crisis prompts doctors to ask patients about firearm safety at home

A gun range may feel like a world away from a doctor’s office, but some medical professionals in Wisconsin are training at one to save lives by learning about firearms.

“I felt like I had a real deficit in talking about firearms with patients,” said Dr. James Bigham, a primary care doctor and professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.

Bigham runs a class for medical students and staff about the basics of firearms at Max Creek Gun Range, alongside shop and gun owner Steve D’Orazio.

“That’s part of being a responsible gun owner is knowing right from wrong,” D’Orazio said.

During routine visits, Bigham asks patients about how they store their weapons at home.

“People may feel it’s too personal, but as a physician, I absolutely think I have the space to say, ‘We gotta be doing everything we can to protect our children, our communities,’” Bigham said.

When asked about criticism over whether physicians should have a role on the topic, Bigham said, “I think this is our lane. As a primary care doctor, if I’m willing to counsel you on alcohol consumption, tobacco use, how you’re driving your car, I gotta be talking about firearms as well.”

D’Orazio said he doesn’t believe it’s a Second Amendment issue.

“We have the right to bear arms. I sell guns. That’s the last thing I want to do is take away my guns. It’s not about taking away, it’s about safety and that’s it,” D’Orazio said.

Nearly 500 people a year die from accidental shootings, according to the National Safety Council. Suicides by guns are at an all-time high for adults, and suicide rates for children have risen dramatically, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Access to unlocked firearms in homes makes suicide nearly four times more likely, according to the Violence Prevention Research Group.

There are about 30 million children across the country living in homes with guns, the CDC says. Children as young as 3 years old may be strong enough to pull the trigger of a handgun, according to Safe Kids Worldwide.

That’s part of why pediatricians at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia say asking parents about safe gun storage is as important as asking about bike helmets and pool safety.

2023 had the highest number of unintentional shootings by children on record, with the victims most often being a sibling or friend of the shooter, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. 

Dr. Dorothy Novick is also teaching soon-to-be doctors on how to broach the triggering topic.

“All of the injury prevention, safety counseling that we offer, we now wrap firearms right into that conversation to really make it normal,” Novick said.

The children’s hospital provides gun locks to families to make their homes safer. Since they started five years ago, they say they’ve handed out close to 3,000 locks. Gun safes are the best method for locking up firearms, and the hospital plans to soon begin offering them to patients as well.

The hospital was motivated to implement the program following a surge of gun purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Philadelphia alone, gun permit applications rose 600% in 2021, according to city records.

“This is really a conversation about safety. This is not a question about politics or ideology. And in fact, people from all across the ideological spectrum all agree that firearm safety is really a fundamental tenet of responsible firearm ownership,” Novick said.