美国国家公共电台 NPR Gun Shops Work With Doctors To Prevent Suicide By Firearm

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Doctors have become increasingly vocal¹ in addressing gun violence as a public health crisis. That posture² has drawn³ the wrath⁴ of the NRA, which tweeted recently, someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane.

In Colorado, a group has come together to bridge the divide. As NPR's Melissa Block reports, they've found common ground on one thing - preventing firearm suicide.

MELISSA BLOCK, BYLINE⁵: The group is the Colorado Firearm Safety Coalition⁶. Its motto - fighting suicide together. It includes doctors and public health researchers, also gun shop owners and a firearms instructor⁷ who's a competitive shooter, Michael Victoroff.

MICHAEL VICTOROFF: This is my competition gun, this old AR-15.

BLOCK: Victoroff is a gun enthusiast⁸ and a retired⁹ family physician. And when he thinks about suicide prevention, one patient in particular comes to mind - a young woman who shot and killed herself decades ago when he first started practicing.

VICTOROFF: And I never saw that coming. I didn't have the slightest clue. I didn't know she owned a gun. Now, this week, if I were talking to her, I would say, do you have a gun in the house? Do you have access to a gun? Does this figure into any of your plans, you know? And if so, I'd really like to talk to you about changing plans.

BLOCK: Victoroff is one of the founders¹⁰ of the coalition along with Dr. Emmy Betz. She's an emergency room physician and public health researcher who focuses on suicide prevention. She's been affected¹¹ by gun suicides in her own family, including one just recently - a cousin in his 20s.

EMMY BETZ: And that's still pretty raw for many of us, I think. And, you know, I think, for me, happening in the midst of the work that I do, it made me pause and think about, do I want to keep doing this work? And how could I have not done more to prevent it?

BLOCK: When they started the coalition, Dr. Betz says they knew they wanted to include both people in health care and gun dealers¹².

BETZ: What really struck me was that they, I think, were astounded¹³ by the suicide statistics.

BLOCK: And those numbers are stark¹⁴. Colorado has one of the highest suicide rates in the U.S. Guns account for half of those suicides. And if you look at all firearm deaths in Colorado, nearly 80 percent of them are suicides.

BETZ: What I say to people is, if you want to reduce suicide deaths, you have to talk about firearms. And if you want to reduce firearm deaths, you have to talk about suicide. They are so linked in this country. And when we talk with patients, it should not be about Second Amendment¹⁵ rights. It should not be about politics. That has no place in the exam room. This should really be about home safety.

BLOCK: Betz wants doctors to know there are no restrictions¹⁶ on asking patients about guns in the home. There's no gag rule despite a common misconception. There was a Florida law that prohibited doctors from asking about gun ownership, but it was struck down as unconstitutional. And Dr. Betz says physicians should know the data about suicide and guns, which are by far the most lethal¹⁷ method of suicide.

BETZ: Eighty-five to 90 percent of people who attempt with a gun will die because that's what guns are supposed to do - is be lethal.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So for the pistol, it's 634.50.

BLOCK: At the Bristlecone gun shop and shooting range in Lakewood outside Denver, along with racks of guns and ammo...

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: All set - enjoy.

BLOCK: ...You'll also find pamphlets on suicide prevention. The flyers encourage people to lock up their guns or temporarily give them to a friend or relative if they're going through a rough time. Jacquelyn Clark owns Bristlecone with her husband and is part of the Firearm Safety Coalition.

JACQUELYN CLARK: We love everything about firearms and the firearms industry, but we also realize very seriously that there is a negative side to it.

BLOCK: And that became horribly clear two years ago at her business. A first-time customer came into Bristlecone by himself and rented a gun. He went out onto the range, fired off half a box of ammunition¹⁸ and then shot himself in the head right there.

CLARK: We felt like we, more than any other range in town, had been taking steps already to prevent it. We were already part of the coalition, and it happened anyways. And it was an eye-opening experience. So we doubled down our efforts to not have it happen again.

BLOCK: Bristlecone now has what it calls a suicide prevention policy. They won't rent a firearm to any first-time customers who come to the range alone unless a friend or relative can vouch¹⁹ for what they consider to be a healthy mental state. Staff are also trained to be on the lookout²⁰ for customers with signs of mental distress²¹.

CLARK: No eye contact, can't answer questions, in a hurry, not engaging, they just want to make the purchase and get out.

BLOCK: The Colorado Coalition is trying to get other gun shops onboard, encouraging them to raise awareness²² about suicide with customers. Some retailers²³ have resisted. They see these efforts as gun control in disguise. But many others have signed on. And within the coalition itself, they know they're not likely to bridge their differences on more contentious²⁴ territory. They don't try to come to agreement on an assault weapons ban, for example, or limits on magazine capacity. Within the group, there's still a strong cultural divide on guns.

And one of the members, 25-year-old Will Dewispelaere, is wrestling with his own internal conflict.

WILL DEWISPELAERE: I'm kind of a self-hating gun owner.

BLOCK: Dewispelaere owns a rifle and a pistol for target shooting. He's a third-year medical student. And one recent night on his surgical²⁵ rotation²⁶, he saw multiple gunshot victims.

DEWISPELAERE: It was three in one night.

BLOCK: That's got to take a toll²⁷.

DEWISPELAERE: It does take a toll.

BLOCK: He says putting an actual face on gun violence, seeing the horrific physical damage bullets cause and the emotional suffering of families - that's changed him and made him think seriously about giving up his guns.

DEWISPELAERE: I can go to the range and say, wow, that's a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed shooting. And then I can go to work the next day, and I can see people that are gunshot victims. And it's - it feels like two different worlds. And here I am in the middle of those two worlds trying to reconcile how I feel about it.

BLOCK: As for the NRA's stay in your lane warning, Dewispelaere responds this way. Gun violence is such a complicated issue, he says. If you start putting people in lanes, you've already lost. Melissa Block, NPR News, Denver.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAURA VEIRS SONG, "SONG MY FRIENDS TAUGHT ME")

1 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

8 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

13 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

14 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

15 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

18 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

19 vouch   

v.担保；断定；n.被担保者

参考例句：

• They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。
• I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

20 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

21 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

22 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

23 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

24 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

25 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

26 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

27 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。