Guns

#ThisIsOurLane: Chicago Surgeons Give Prognosis Of Online Movement

We asked trauma surgeons who treat gun violence victims in Chicago to weigh in on the year since #ThisIsOurLane and what's next for the movement.

#ThisIsOurLane: Chicago Surgeons Give Prognosis Of Online Movement
Getty Images / Joe Raedle

When the American College of Physicians published a paper last year recommending stricter regulations on guns to reduce firearm-related injuries and deaths, the National Rifle Association shot back, telling "anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane."

Doctors turned the threat into an opportunity to educate, via a hashtag: #ThisIsOurLane. It allowed health care professionals to pull back the curtain on the blood-stained reality of treating victims of gun violence and show the devastating ripple effect on communities in the wake of those incidents. 

One year on since the hashtag started, we spoke to some of the people who deal with this trauma firsthand to assess the viability of This Is Our Lane and offer their prognosis on the movement. 

Voices in this story: 

Dr. Brian Williams, associate professor of surgery at University of Chicago Medicine

Dr. Leah Tatebe, Cook County trauma surgeon

Dr. Abdullah Pratt, assistant professor of emergency medicine at University of Chicago Medicine