The largest professional organization representing ear, nose, and throat doctors in the United States endorsed gun silencers last year, ostensibly as a way to prevent hearing loss caused by loud gunfire.

But the endorsement appears to be a fig leaf attempting to lend a veneer of credibility to the pro-gun lobby’s push for deregulation of silencers, also known as suppressers. As the U.S. continues to grapple with gun violence and remains logjammed in the fractious debate over gun rights and civic responsibilities, medical societies that seek to meaningfully inform public opinion or policy on guns and their intersection with health must — first and foremost — consider their obligation for scientific and ethical integrity.

Position statements from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-He

See Full Page