Here is a letter mailed to the Journal of AMerican Medical Assn by
one of our Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws. Dr. Bennett told me I
could post his comments about the JAMA article on Brady law for you
guys here:

To the Editor:
The Brady Bill is an example of legislation along the
medical model. The “disease” is handgun violence and the
“prescribed
treatment” is the restriction of purchasing legal handguns.
Ludwig
and Cook1 have analyzed the results of the Brady Bill and Rosenfeld2
has commented on that analysis. My intent is not to comment on the
data or analysis but upon the sensible use of “Law” as
“Medication.”

There is consensus in the scientific medical community
that before a medication is recommended, it must be shown efficacious
and safe. Our legislators need to be advised of that standard and
the proper use of it. They press forward with laws before they
properly understand the law or its unintended consequences.

Dr. Rosenfeld does a disservice to society when he
concludes his Editorial with the statement: “Until the results
of
that research are available, current knowledge does not warrant
relaxing or abandoning any of the Brady Act-type restrictions on
handgun purchases.”3 This statement reverses the standard, so
that
before the law can be withdrawn, it must be shown to be dangerous or
inefficacious.

Our legislators are poisoning our society with laws that
are poorly understood, that interact with each other and which have
not been shown to be safe or effective. Perhaps we need more
physicians and fewer attorneys as legislators. First do no harm.

Sincerely,

John A. Bennett, DO