Doctors are tweeting about gun control again after the Chicago hospital shooting, and everyone should read this
There have been countless (and sadly familiar) calls for gun control after both the Pittsburgh synagogue and Thousand Oaks mass shootings in late October and November, respectively. Following these events, people who work in emergency rooms have been adding their voices to the chorus. And when conservative pundit Ann Coulter criticized medical professionals for speaking out, one ER doctor told her to “GTFO [of] our lane”—and it’s going viral.
On October 30th, the American College of Physicians expressed its support for gun control reform, recommending a “public health approach to firearms-related violence.” It didn’t take long for the NRA to respond, and mere hours before the Thousand Oaks shooting, the organization tweeted that someone should tell doctors to “stay in their lane,” according to NPR.
Physicians responded to the NRA’s tweet with outrage, with one doctor tweeting, “Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly?” The tweet prompted Coulter to get involved, issuing her own attack on doctors calling for gun control.
"Emergency room doctors pull cue balls, vines & gummy bears out of human orifices every week," Coulter tweeted. "That doesn't make them experts on pool, horticulture or chewy candy."
Emergency room doctors pull cue balls, vines & gummy bears out of human orifices every week. That doesn't make them experts on pool, horticulture or chewy candy. https://t.co/EdksEGDnCx
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) November 10, 2018
But Rick Pescatore, who works as the director of emergency medicine research for the Crozer-Keystone Health System in Chester, Pennsylvania, wasted no time in clapping back.
"I'm an ER doc. If you add up every gummy bear, cue ball, or copy of your sh*tty books I've pulled out of orifices, it doesn't even approach the number of moms I've had to tell their kids are dead from guns," he replied. "Stick w/the xenophobia+racism you're so good at and GTFO our lane."
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As of the morning of November 12th, Pescatore’s tweet has racked up more than 600,000 likes and more than 150,000 retweets. But he was only the latest to speak out in defense of doctors expressing their opinion. After the NRA’s comment, the hashtag #ThisisMyLane spread among medical professionals, who shared their experiences treating gun wounds.
Warning: the following tweets describe violence and may be disturbing to some readers.
.@NRA says docs should “stay in [our] lane.
My lane is a pregnant woman shot in a moment of rage by her partner. She survived because the baby stopped the bullet. Have you ever had to deliver a shattered baby? #ThisisMyLane . What’s yours? #Docs4GunSense
— Stephanie Bonne (@scrubbedin) November 9, 2018
#ThisisMyLane … @NRA Come to the trauma bay; see first-hand what an emergency thoracotomy looks like trying to save a gunshot victim without vital signs. Come with us as we tell a mother her child has died from gun violence. Yup, this is definitely OUR lane. https://t.co/Qb3za76FzR
— Sara Shanahan (@SaraShanahan_MD) November 10, 2018
Everyday I have to ask the parents of depressed children/teens if there is a loaded gun in the house so I don't take a call from the PICU docs about another patient's self inflicted gunshot wound. Prevention is our lane. #tweetiatrician #thisismylane
— Paige Perriello she/her (@paigeperriello) November 10, 2018
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In 7 years, one gun shot victim.
When I took trauma call, it was literally every call. I’d get at least one per shift. Often several per night.#ThisisMyLane https://t.co/p0nA9swDfH
— Brian MD (@bone00afide) November 10, 2018
And after the November 19th Chicago hospital shooting—in which three innocent people plus the shooter—lost their lives, doctors are once again calling for concrete action on gun violence.
Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing, not death.
Schools are supposed to be places of learning, not death.
Churches are supposed to be places of worship, not death.
Our country is supposed to be the United States of America, not a war torn battlefield. Of death. https://t.co/fpBC4LBSNK
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) November 20, 2018
We are all the same lane, together.
We must all drive to end gun violence.
Don’t let the NRA divide and conquer.
Our reality is beyond horrific- we must have the courage to change and win the fight to keep everyone safe and free of fear. https://t.co/PVldsKAEV8— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) November 20, 2018
Another senseless shooting with lives lost. A Chicago police officer, an EM physician and a pharm tech. Chicago lost 3 people who cared today. How many more tragedies before we have sensible gun laws without @nra holding us hostage. #ThisISOurLane
— Santina Wheat,MD,MPH (she/her) (@tinawheat) November 20, 2018
#ThisIsOurLane pic.twitter.com/gg2QHXQl6D
— jhrn11 (@jhenrn11) November 20, 2018
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According to The Washington Post, a 2017 study in the journal Health Affairs found that the U.S. spends $2.8 billion every year on gun-related injuries. Basically, it’s pretty clear that ER doctors are in their lanes when discussing gun control, and it’s time our government listens.
