House holds hearing on preventing gun violence

The House Judiciary Committee today held a hearing on preventing gun violence. Witnesses included Joseph Sakran, director of emergency general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, who testified as a trauma surgeon, survivor of gun violence and board member of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Sakran described how he was randomly shot at age 17 when a fight broke out near his high school, inspiring him to become a trauma surgeon. “Every day, we are the ones on the front line caring for patients who suffer injuries from bullets … telling families that their loved ones are never coming home,” Sakran said. He called for a broad multidisciplinary, multi-strategy approach supported by science and research, similar to the approach used to prevent motor vehicle injuries and death. Also testifying at the hearing were students, a law professor and representatives from the Baltimore City Sherriff’s Office, Houston Police Department, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and Kids Off the Block, a Chicago-based group that helps low-income youth find alternatives to gangs and violence.