Anti-Gun Physicians See Only One Side of Gun Issue

There's an informal logical fallacy called argument from authority. Basically, it's where someone uses their authority, particularly when it's not relevant to the discussion, to dismiss someone's arguments. "I'm a lawyer, so I know more than you, and you're wrong about particle physics." That kind of thing.

But most people are smart enough not to fall into that obvious a trap. Instead, they tend to focus on one aspect of an issue where their expertise looks like it's relevant, but even if it is, the argument and their authority only go so far.

Take, for example, the anti-gun physician.

There are pro-gun doctors. Some doctors aren't on either side, specifically, but just try to do the work.

Then you have those who use their status as physicians to try and leverage people to act a certain way on the issue of guns, such as Dr. Thomas K. Lew, a clinical associate professor at Stanford University's medical school.  He's clearly anti-gun, and he's a prime example of the problem I have with anti-gun doctors.

Lawmakers can save more lives than I can as a physician

As a physician, my first duty is to save lives, which is why I’m writing this. Firearms account for more than 40,000 American deaths per year. It is the leading cause of premature death in the United States.

In 2024, the surgeon general even declared gun violence a public health crisis (a fact that President Donald Trump's administration has tried to scrub from its websites).

With a stroke of a pen, signing laws, both our legislature and the president could save more lives than I ever could in my entire career. But our current Congress and president seem to have little appetite for this.

In 2022, then-President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which, among other interventions, clamped down on illegal gun trafficking.

But the Trump administration has already worked to reverse some of these gains, repealing the “zero tolerance” policy of clamping down on gun dealers selling illegal firearms and repurposing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Of course, the ATF has always been able to punish gun dealers selling illegal firearms. What the zero tolerance policy did was punish licensed dealers over minor paperwork issues, such as abbreviating a county instead of spelling it out--yes, that's an actual example--while actually accomplishing nothing to make us safer.

See, the problem here is that the good doctor starts with the statistics of "deaths" and, as a physician, it sounds like this is the realm of expertise.

However, he fails to note that of those 40,000 deaths due to gunshot, about 27,000 of them are suicides. Is he suggesting that gun laws will make it so all 27,000 Americans will live? If he is, he's a moron. We all know there are other ways to take your own life, and while gunshots are particularly effective, there are other methods that are damn near as effective and wouldn't be touched by the law.

Additionally, our doctor here is used to seeing one side of the equation. He's used to seeing the negative impact of firearms. In fact, he claims he had family at the Route 91 festival in Las Vegas that fateful night. If that's so, then that only adds to his myopic view.

What he doesn't see as a result of his work are the lives saved by guns. The numbers vary depending on who is giving them, but the lowball estimate from anti-gun groups is that 100,000 defensive gun uses take place in this country each year. The upper end of estimates is a couple of million annually. Even at the low-ball number, though, you have two and a half times more people defending life with a gun than taking life, and that's including the suicides.

By presenting his credentials, he's implying that his role as a physician gives him authority on the subject. It does not. At best, it makes him look like a jackwagon for playing the doctor card when it doesn't apply.

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

Help us continue to report on their efforts and legislative successes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.