Statement by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners on Gun Violence
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) stands with the families and friends whose loved ones were killed or injured in the mass shootings over the weekend in both El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. It’s unfortunate that, yet again, we are calling for this issue to be addressed by our policymakers across the nation and in Washington D.C. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are passionate in their care for patients and are advocates for prevention.
Far too frequently, NPs are treating victims of mass shootings in hospital settings or helping them manage their recovery long after the media coverage subsides. AANP continues to support policymakers putting politics aside and focusing on common-sense reforms that reduce access to automatic weapons and high capacity magazines, increasing the age to purchase certain firearms and strengthening the federal background check system, while maintaining the individual’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment.
In addition, AANP supports state and federal investment for additional research to look at this major crisis, including a focus on the root causes of gun violence and expanding access to mental health treatment to communities in the aftermath of these tragedies. We continue to encourage policymakers to come to grips with the senseless violence in our country. It’s time to put prevention into practice on this issue.
Sophia L. Thomas, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP
AANP President
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The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 270,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NP patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate a nurse practitioner in your community, go to npfinder.com. For more information and to locate an NP in your community, visit WeChooseNPs.org.