In response to President Joe Biden’s visit to Monterey Park, California to announce an Executive Order to increase background checks on gun sales, Donaldo Hernandez, M.D., President of the California Medical Association (CMA), issued the following statement:

“CMA applauds President Joe Biden’s executive order to increase the number of background checks on gun sales and bring the country closer to the widely supported goal of universal background checks. This action, taken by the President builds upon the law he signed last year, which was the most significant gun safety legislation in decades. 

“As the leading cause of injury-related death among children and pregnant women, CMA recognizes the major public threat that gun violence poses and has long supported common sense gun reform. We are proud to have supported previous efforts to expand background checks, including HR 8 by Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04).

“In recent years there has been an alarming increase in firearm violence, as more Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2020 than in any other year on record. As physicians, we see first-hand the trauma and harm that gun violence inflicts on our patients and communities. We applaud Biden’s leadership on this issue and will remain steadfast in supporting evidence-base policies to reduce the impacts of gun violence.”