Stuff we can't talk about

On this blog we discuss infection prevention, and there are several interesting articles in the January issue of ICHE that merit comment. In the aftermath of the horrors that visited a Connecticut school yesterday, though, I am thinking more about other forms of injury prevention. But apparently we can’t have a sane discussion about firearm injury prevention in the United States, or at least not while we’re mourning. Why?

I have no special expertise, so I’ll spare you my opinions. However, I do think that gun violence should be studied and prevented in the same way that we study and prevent other forms of harm. That starts with understanding some of the epidemiology. I’ll outsource this to Ezra Klein, who reviews some basic facts in this excellent post.

"If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it."