Preventing peanut allergy through early consumption--ready for prime time?

n engl j med 372;9 nejm.org february 26, 2015 875 dent Barack Obama’s promise in his 2013 State of the Union address to enact gun-control legislation was stymied, and the composition of the current Congress augurs ill for such federal legislation. Surveys show that a strong majority of Americans want better gun control, and the medical community is solidly behind them. So what stands in the way? One factor is gun advocates’ opposition to systematic collection of data on gun-related injuries. Another is a fervent belief by gun advocates that any registration of guns would lead to confiscation of their weapons by the federal government. The greatest obstacle by far, however, is the reality that gun-control advocates are “outgunned” by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which mobilizes its members with scare tactics and pours industry-sourced money into blocking any efforts at gun control at the city, state, and national level. Many congressional leaders are NRA members, many more are beholden to the organization for financial campaign support, and still others are intimidated by the power of the NRA to strengthen their election opponents. We have been unsuccessful in buffering the stress that violence in the media imposes on us. We are also unlikely to see a decline in the risk of firearm-related violence unless the public elects lawmakers at all levels of government with the courage to defy gun lobbyists. Without deep cultural and regulatory changes, the chances of reducing gun deaths in the United States are slim indeed.