The national expansion on Saturday, Dec. 16, of the Goods for Guns buyback program, co-founded by trauma surgeon Michael P. Hirsh, MD, professor of surgery and pediatrics, is one significant step to reducing gun violence, according to a Dec. 14 editorial in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Dr. Hirsh, chief of pediatric surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center, medical director of the Worcester Division of Public Health and co-founder of the Goods for Guns program, told the paper that the rate of suicides, domestic violence and accidents involving children is reduced by getting unwanted, unsecured weapons out of the home.
Hirsh also weighed in on the federal legislation proposed that would allow people from out-of-state to carry concealed weapons. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would allow out-of-state residents to carry a concealed weapon in all states, as long as they have the required permit in their state of residence. Hirsh said the rate of gun homicides and suicides in the state of Massachusetts is among the lowest in the country and that’s because it also has some of the tightest gun control laws. But the proposed legislation would overrule some of those laws.
Read the full editorial: Telegram & Gazette Editorial: Concealed carry reciprocity that isn’t reciprocal – federal gun law would impose more lax requirements on Massachusetts
