To our beloved community,

We, the many physicians of Newton, have deep concerns about a gun shop being opened at 709 Washington Avenue in Newtonville, MA. We represent a wide range of medical specialties, from every hospital in the local metropolitan area and we see a wide gamut of diseases. However, the sad truth is that professionally, we have all been affected by gun violence. We have all seen the devastation these weapons cause: death, life-long disabilities, and families ripped apart. We have managed the wounded and dying in the emergency department, amputated limbs and closed devastating wounds in the ORs, and managed the lifelong physical and psychological damage in our primary care and psychiatric offices. We are motivated to speak out now because we have seen directly that which the most of the public has not. Gun violence is nothing like the depictions we see on television; it is devastating and permanent. Gun violence is a public health crisis. It affects us as physicians, it affects our patients, it affects our communities and families. Despite the NRA declaring us to stay in our lane, nothing could be more in our lane as physicians.

This is why we, the cosigned physicians, have decided to write this letter in firm and unanimous opposition to the opening of Newton Firearms. More readily available guns from a local dealer will mean more guns in our Newton homes. We know that there is a direct correlation to the number of guns available in homes and the number of homicides and suicides. Each year, nearly 500 people die from unintentional firearm injuries. The majority of people killed in firearm accidents are under age 24, and most of these young people are shot by someone else, usually someone their own age. The shooter is typically a friend or family member, often an older brother.

Given the current pandemic and the increasing mental health crisis that we find ourselves in as a result of the pandemic, it would be dangerous for there to be more access to guns in our neighborhood. Recent polling in Michigan showed that 46% of parents reported that their teenager had shown signs of increased depression or anxiety since the pandemic started. In a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, people who owned handguns had rates of suicide that were nearly four times higher than people living in the same neighborhood who did not own handguns. Making more guns available with the current crisis is illogical and will certainly lead to loss of life.

The most tragic of all is the location of this store. It is located within 1 mile of 7 schools, and a half mile from two elementary schools. We are currently in the midst of an epidemic of school shootings. From 2009-2019, there were 180 school shootings with 356 victims. Do we really want to see our children and families next on the national news? Opening this store in this location seems to ignore current events and endanger our children.

We physicians have gone into medicine to do whatever it takes to extend and promote healthier and fuller lives. Yet we live in a country that has more guns than people (source Economist). It is time for us to say “Enough.” Stop the violence. We don’t need a gun store in Newton. The proliferation of guns in our community directly contradicts everything that we work for in medicine. Our communities will not be safer, and our local hospitals will end up seeing more victims of gun violence. We implore you to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of our community and our patients.

Sincerely,

Name, Specialty, Hospital affiliation Matthew Rhee, MD, Emergency Medicine, St Elizabeth Medical Center Phoebe Olhava, Radiology, St. Elizabeth Medical Center Cristina Lete, MD Suruchi Kaul, Nephrology/ Internal Medicine Kara Deaver Chang MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Newton Wellesley Hospital Karim Awad, MD, Atrius Health Brett C Young MD. Maternal Fetal Medicine. Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Joshua Penn, Emergency Medicine, Francine Monahan, Internal Medicine, Atrius Health Andrew Lichtman MD PhD, pathology. MassGeneralBrigham Sheila Leavitt MD (retired, BWH) Jai Eswara, Urology, St Elizabeth Medical Center Kate Nyquist, MD Child Psychiatrist Newton Wellesley Hospital Margarita Ebril-Lel, Neurology, St. Elizabeth Medical Center Laura Gellis, Pediatrics, BCH Jeff Kolodney, pediatrician Keren Ladin, public health, Tufts University Michelle Katz, MD, MPH, pediatric endocrinology Ai-ris Collier, OB/GYN, BIDMC Emily Hurstak BU School of Medicine Claudia Epelbaum, M.D. Psychiatry, affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Michael Jellinek, MD Newton Wellesley Hospital Dr Cristina Alexander, primary care/internal medicine, BWH Molly Perencevich, Gastroenterology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Jeremy T. Smith, Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham & Women’s Hospital Edward O’neil Jr, Emergency Medicine, St Elizabeth Medical Center Diane Belder-Preston, pediatrics, MGH

Leah Schafer, MD Radiology, Medical Center Cheri Weaver, MD, Emergency Medicine, BIDMC-Milton Karen leitner Internal Medicine teladoc health Molly Perencevich, Gastroenterology, Brigham and Women’s s Hospital Amy Roberts, MD, Department of Cardiology and Division of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Childrens Hospital Rebecca Mishuris, Internal Medicine Elizabeth Oh, Pediatrics, BIDMC Erin Fisher MD, Emergency Medicine, Melrose Wakefield Healthcare Lori Laffel MD MPH, Pediatric Endocrinology, Joslin Center, Boston Children's Hospital Glenn Laffel MD PhD Claire Carlo, MD, Internal Medicine, BMC Dr. Susanne Muehlschlegel, Neurocritical Care, University of Medical School/UMass Memorial HealthCare Diane Belder-Preston, pediatrics, MGH Rebecca Perkins MD, John Durfee, MD St Elizabeth's Hospital Sona Chikarmane, Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Jeremy D. Schmahmann MD, Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital Julie Winsett, MD, Infectious Diseases, Newton Wellesley Hospital Deborah Jonas MD, pediatrician, affiliated with Boston Childrens Hospital Ping Lien, Emergency Medicine, Lahey Hospital Amir Taghinia, Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital Caryn Dutton, Ob/Gyn, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Michael Fishman, MD; Radiology; Boston Medical Center Edna S. Hamilton, MD. Radiologist. Newton Wellesley Hospital Mark Friedberg, Internal Medicine Carolyn Wu, Ophthalmology, Boston Childrens Hospital Sara Penn, Rheumatology, Takeda Beverly Loudin, MD, MPH. OB/GYN Michael Kelly, MD, MPH, Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology Oncology Sona Chikarmane, Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Daniel Leffler, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Andrew Baumel MD Pediatrician Framingham Pediatrics Michael Levy MD, Cardiology, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center Michael Flaherty, DO Massachusetts General Hospital - Director, InjuryFree Coalition for Kids Boston MGHfC Laura Hu, MD internal medicine. Mgh Tiffany Angel, MGH Alberto Puig, MGH Kimberly Kinaka, Hospitalist, Cambridge Health Alliance Michael Flaherty, DO Massachusetts General Hospital - Director, InjuryFree Coalition for Kids Boston MGHfC Page B. Pennell, MD, Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital Richard Gomberg, Psychiatry, Newton Wellesley Hospital Sarah Kramer, MD, Psychiatry Robert Fenster, psychiatrist Stephanie Nitzschke, Brigham and Women’s Hospital James M. Kirshenbaum, MD Cardiovascular Medicine Elinor Baron, MD, Infectious Disease, Newton-Wellesley Hospital Pinak Shah MD, Brigham and Womens Hospital Florencia Halperin, Endocrinology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Florencia Halperin, Endocrinology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lynn Grush MD, child and adolescent psychiatrist, MGH Roger Spingarn, Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital Susan Reuter, MD Pediatrics, Boston Childrens Hospital Jackie Hsieh, MD, MPH. Pediatrics. Boston Children's Hospital/Newton Wellesley Hospital Douglas Drachman, MD. Interventional Cardiologist. Massachusetts General Hospital Amit Granot M.D. Metrowest Medical center Christopher Lee, MD, Endocrinology/Internal Medicine, Metrowest Medical Center Danielle Saly MD, Nephrology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Sabeena Chacko, Pediatric Anesthesiology, Boston Childrens Hospital Kevin Raskin, Orthopedics, Massachusetts General Hospital Allison Mariani, MD, pediatrics, MGH and NWH Pinak Shah MD, Brigham and Womens Hospital Jean Matheson MD, Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Sana Zaidi, Anesthesiology, BIDMC Alyssa Levin-Scherz, pediatrics, Boston Medical Center Mary Herlihy MD, Beth Israel Deaconnes Med Ctr, Bostonrael Rebecca Perkins MD, Boston Medical Center Suzanne Bender, MD Child Psychiatry, MGH Sunita Tuli - Boston Childrens hospital Elisabeth Robinson, M.D., Child Psychiatry Private Practice in Newton MA Elizabeth N. Pearce, MD, MSc; Endocrinology, Boston Medical Center Pinak Shah MD, Brigham and Womens Hospital Kari Braaten, Ob/Gyn, Brigham and Women's Hospital Peter LaCamera, MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, St Elizabeth Medical Center Greg Schwartz MD, Primary Care Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Kat Pocius, OB/GYN, MGH Jamie Winnick Stacy Wu, MD, Neurology, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Jennifer Tseng, Surgery, Boston Medical Center Sara LP Ross, Pediatric Intensive Care, Michael J. Weaver, MD. Chief, Division of Orthopaedic Trauma, Brigham and Women's Hospital Lois Slovik, MD Psychiatry, MGH Brinda T. Gupta, Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Newton Wellesley Hospital Allen Palmer, M.D., FABP; Child, Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis Sarita Patil, Allergy and Immunology Peter Greenspan, Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital Karen Jacobson, MD, MPH, Section of Infectious Diseases, Boston Medical Center Erica Mayer, Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Elizabeth Pinsky, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Newton Wellesley Hospital Monica Kapoor, Emergency Medicine, UMass Memorial Health Care Sun Lee, MD Endocrinology, Boston University School of Medicine Margot Tang, MD, MPH, Pediatrics BMC Margot Tang, MD, MPH, Pediatrics BMC Doron Korinow, MD Department of Emergency Medicine, Newton-Wellesley Hospital Hugh Auchincloss, Thoracic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital/Newton Wellesley Hospital Mollie Blazar Lebowitz, MD, pediatric emergency medicine, Newton Wellesley Hospital Jane W. Newburger, MD, MPH, Pediatric Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital Jennifer H. Lee, MD, FACE, Endocrinology, Atrius Health & Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Anahita Dua Vascular Surgery MGH Christiane EL Dammann, Neonatologist (Pediatrician) Tufts Children's Hospital Galit rosen Aparna Parikh, oncology , MGH Jessica Lin, Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Eileen Deignan M.D. , Mount Auburn and Emerson Hospitals William Lin, Dermatology/Dermatopathology, MGH Elissa Rottenberg MD, Pediatrics Tetiana Pronchick, MD. Pediatrician - Pediatrics at Newton Wellesley ROBERT SAPER MD, FAMILY MEDICINE Lecia Sequist, Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Newton Wellesley Hospital Sol Schulman, Hematology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harry Schrager, MD, Infectious Diseases, Newton Wellesley Hospital Lynn Halpern, MD PhD, Ophthalmology Justin Gainor, MD; Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Alexandra Epstein, MD, Woburn Pediatrics (PPOC) Gaurav Singal, Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Anne G Pinto, Internal Medicine, BILH

Robin Levenson, Radiology, BIDMC Alan Epstein M.D.,gastroenterology, Roger Williams Medical Center Bharati Kochar, Gastroenterologist, Massachusetts General Hospital Alisa Goldberg, MD, MPH, OB/GYN, Brigham & Womens Hospital Marlene Freeman, MD, Psychiatry, MGH Olaf Dammann, MD PhD, Public Health, Tufts University School of Medicine Aparna Parikh, oncology , MGH Pinak Shah MD, Brigham and Womens Hospital Neelam Vashi, Dermatology, Boston Medical Center Ishani Ganguli MD MPH, Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital Scott A Freeman, MD; Psychiatrist; MetroWest Medical Center Eric Secemsky, MD, Director of Vascular Intervention, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Betty Wang, Massachusetts General Hospital Monica Ghoshhajra, MD, Allergy/Immunology, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center Cory M. Resnick, MD, DMD, FACS, Associate Professor, and Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, Boston Childrens Hospital Carrie Cunningham Lubitz, Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital Eileen Kramer Pediatrics, Newton Wellesley Hospital Mihir Parikh, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, BIDMC Zoe Rosenbaum, Allergy and Immunology, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center Kathryn Brigham, MD, Pediatrics, Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital