This past November, Twitter exploded with a new hashtag, #ThisIsOurLane, to act against gun violence. The movement occurred shortly after the NRA retweeted a paper from the American College of Physicians by the Annals of Internal Medicine. The piece was titled "Reducing Firearm Injuries and Deaths in the United States" and it suggested a push to stop gun violence by speaking out to support "appropriate regulation of the purchase of legal firearms."
On Nov. 2, the NRA put out an editorial dismissing the piece, saying it was just "every anti-gunner's wish list." Then, they retweeted the ACP paper on their Twitter account.
Not only did the NRA retweet this ACP paper, but they also made a comment saying that "someone should tell self-important antigun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the article in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves." It goes without saying that this genuinely upset everyone in the medical field.
For starters, that tweet was made only a few hours before the shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks by 28-year-old Ian David Long, who was a former Marine.
It was then that doctors came together and started their movement. Each doctor, surgeon, resident, etc, came out and shared gruesome photos and stories on their Twitters with the hashtag "This Is Our Lane." All seemed to agree on one thing, the NRA created their lane, and it is not even a lane anymore, but a highway.
This epidemic led to many controversial debates on whether to keep guns or ban them altogether. Some doctors forwardly stated that guns and gun violence were a major issue and we needed to get rid of it completely. One doctor stated that they don't want to "[take] your guns - we just don't want to be shot." Her comment alone reached thousands, but it also angered many people. Twitter users went as far as to use the excuses "people kill people" and "people are the problem."
If people are the problem, then why do you want to give the problem guns? Does that not sound alarming to anyone?
Some Twitter users who followed the movement closely joined the argument with statistics to fight against the NRA. They mentioned how in 311 days into the year, there had already been 307 shootings. Others talked about the fact that firearms are the second leading death amongst teens and young adults, following shortly behind motor vehicle accidents. Then, a few people used food to reason against the NRA. One person tweeted out that the E. coli ridden lettuce that had killed four people was removed from shelves immediately, yet guns have been involved in over 300 mass shootings and are still available at Walmart.
The stories and photos shared with this hashtag were disturbing and quite heartbreaking. Most showed pictures of bloody floors and scrubs, while some chose to show the plethora of equipment used to try to treat patients that didn't survive. There were many tweets about the encounters that the doctors were faced with as well. One truly upsetting story consisted of a man who shot his pregnant girlfriend during a fight. The only reason she survived was because her unborn baby had stopped the bullet. Needless to say, the baby did not make it. Another story told of a young man shot in the chest and in his last breaths, grabbed one doctor and whispered, "please don't let me die."
To the NRA: you are right. It isn't a doctor's "lane" to advocate against guns and gun violence. It is their Highway. It is their job. It is their life. Shame on you for not realizing that your "rights" are costing hundreds of lives. No weapon is worth the amount of pain that a family goes through when they are told that their child, parent, sibling, friend, or lover has died. No weapon is worth the cost of a proper funeral. Your weapons are not worth this. Stay out of our lane, NRA.
