Doctors 'incensed' after NRA tweets they should 'stay in their lane' on gun violence

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A trauma surgeon was "incensed" when the National Rifle Association tweeted that doctors should stay out of the gun control debate in the U.S.

Dr. Stephanie Bonne told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti that she sees the impact of gun violence every day.

"To say that wanting to prevent the kind of tragedies that we see doesn't have anything to do with me was sort of like [saying]: 'You just keep patching them up. We've got this,'" she said.

"It doesn't really make any sense and it doesn't apply to any other health problem that we have addressed over the years."

On Oct. 30, the American College of Physicians published a new position paper, recommending a series of gun violence prevention measures. Responding on Twitter, the NRA wrote: "Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane."

Medical professionals tweeted in response, often with graphic images that showed the gunshot injuries they treat.

Many of those responses were worse than the original tweet, said Dr. Robert Young, a psychiatrist and member of the NRA, and Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership.

"In many cases, they were actually profane, abusive, blaming the true gun-safety organizations like the National Rifle Association, and gun owners, for what they experience when they are caring for the wounds of people who were shot," he said.

"We are all anti-bullet hole in people — firearms used properly never do that, unless it's necessary to defend oneself."

Listen to the full conversation near the top of the page.

Produced by Julie Crysler, Sarah-Joyce Battersby and Cameron Perrier.