DOCTOR’S ORDERS

American Medical Association Endorses Stricter Gun-Control Policies

To combat what it calls a public-health crisis.

The American Medical Association voted Tuesday to endorse several gun-control policies, including a ban on assault weapons during a policymaking meeting. Other policies the organization endorsed include gun purchase bans for people under 21, firearm registration, licensing and safety course requirements, and measures that make it more difficult for people with domestic-violence convictions to obtain guns. The AMA cited data revealing that there were almost 40,000 gun deaths and 111,000 gun injuries in 2016. “We as physicians are the witnesses to the human toll of this disease,” said an emergency-medicine specialist.