In the article “The Science of Gun Violence”, by Russ Juskalian, he claims that the key to lessening the effects of gun violence is actually through the public health models. He reveals there is little research on the topic, and that furthering research needs to be the objective to find where the root cause is. With legislation like the Dickey amendment and the Tiahrt amendment, the overall research in this field dropped drastically. Juskalian proposes a solution which is to model the research in gun violence on other public health models. He references to several public health matters that were solved or regulated thanks to researching and some restructuring with policy. He deduces that based on the success with other public health research and policy implementations, a similar strategy could be applied with gun violence and work more as a preventative.
To me, the most interesting idea of this piece is Juskalian’s point that even with minor restrictions on guns, that it has still proven effective in other countries. The reform in the Swiss army showed with reducing access to guns the fewer people had opportunities to harm themselves with the weaponry. Similarly, in a study done with the Israeli army, soldiers were required to leave their guns on base before leaving for the weekend. The implementation of this policy dropped the overall rate of suicides by 40%. These two studies exemplify the idea that small policy changes can make a big difference on the impact of gun violence.
I agree with Juskalian on the basis that gun violence can be helped with the public health model. In my view, the types of solutions the author recommends are vital for lessening the effects of gun violence now and in the future. For instance, the public health model reduced the number of deaths over 70% in the instance of baby Aspirin poisoning. Through research and minor changes in the packaging, the public health model was actually able to help prevent the deaths of many children. In addition, research related to gun violence is limited and ineffective with academic research falling in numbers by 64% between 1998 and 2012. Some might object, of course, that the public health model is primarily research and then small restrictions implemented. Yet I would argue that the number of deaths related to firearms continues to rise over recent years with little research, but historically the public health model has proven effective time and again with a basis of research. Overall, then, I believe the public health model will help pave a path with less gun violence.