To combat the "public health emergency" of violence in the United States, gun users should face restrictions as tough as those placed on automobile drivers, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and other health experts said Tuesday.
Koop and Dr. George Lundberg, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, said they think that owning or shooting a firearm should carry the same prior conditions as owning or driving a car.Specifically, they recommended that gun owners and operators:
- Be a certain age and of good physical/mental health.
- Demonstrate proper knowledge and skill in using the gun.
- Be monitored in the firearm's use.
- Forfeit the right to own or shoot a firearm if the conditions are violated.
"These restrictions should apply uniformly to all United States inhabitants across all states. No grandfather clauses should be allowed, " Koop and Lundberg wrote in an issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association devoted to violence.