Dear Members of the Northern Colorado Medical Society:

I wish to extend my appreciation to all the members who responded to our recent member survey asking about to what extent the Northern Colorado Medical Society should become active in attempting to regulate devices that affect the fire rate of semi-automatic weapons.

Thank you to all who responded. We had 149 responses within a few days, which is an excellent response rate. We had about 36 members make comments as well. As you can imagine, there are strong feelings on both sides.

Although over 50 percent responded in favor of the NCMS taking a stance against such devices, the level of physicians in favor did not reach the predetermined level of 75 percent (i.e., 3 out of 4) in favor that I felt would have been necessary to pursue the issue further.  Although we can debate at what point the Northern Colorado Medical Society reaches a “consensus” on an issue, I feel that we can all agree that in order for the Medical Society to take a strong stand on an issue, a high percentage of the members need to be in favor of taking that stand.

At this time, the NCMS will not be actively involved in supporting or voicing opposition against any potential new regulation on semi-automatic weapons. Thank you again. Your input helps guide the efforts of the medical society. The comments were extremely helpful as well.

As you can expect, political issues are complex. There are many angles to each issue. The Northern Colorado Medical Society does wish to advocate for patients and physicians, so there may be a time for us to take a position on an issue. I appreciate any input from our members because we do need to ultimately represent the wishes of the membership. There may be future surveys. If possible, please give us your thoughts!

Sincerely,

Peter C. Smith M.D. – NCMS President Elect