Editor’s note: The following is an edited version of testimony given by Norwich resident and physician Paul Manganiello before the Vermont Senate Committee on Judiciary during a Jan. 30 public hearing on gun-violence legislation in Montpelier.

I am a physician and the medical director of the Good Neighbor Health Clinic in White River Junction and the board president of the nonprofit gun safety advocacy organization GunsenseVT. I am also a member of the Vermont Medical Society, which has already drafted a policy statement in support of universal criminal background checks.

I am testifying in support of the three legislative initiatives before you: S.6, which concerns universal criminal background checks; S.221, regarding “extreme risk protection orders”; and H.422, which covers the removal of firearms from a person cited for domestic assault.

I moved with my family to the Upper Valley in 1979 to work at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Not long after, we received word that my nephew had been fatally shot during a domestic violence incident. When my son was in middle school, one of his classmates had intentionally taken her life with her father’s unsecured handgun.

The state and national statistics around gun deaths and injuries give an incomplete picture of their true tragic consequences; countless family members, friends and their communities suffer as a result of each of these events, which are not tabulated in those statistics.

Let’s be clear about why I am here. It has nothing to do with taking away an individual’s Second Amendment rights, but it is related to the fact that the National Rifle Association is enabling domestic terrorism.

No one is proposing that the government confiscate a law-abiding citizen’s firearms. We are here to encourage our legislators to pass legislation that would protect Vermont citizens. Gun violence is multi-faceted; there is no single piece of legislation that will be a “silver bullet.” Nor will legislation eliminate gun-related tragedies. Sensible public health initiatives can help reduce risk, not eliminate risk.

Legislation related to highway safety is a perfect example. No one would support taking down posted speed limits, even though we know some people speed and don’t get caught. Even though we have laws that require using seat belts, there are those who don’t use them. But no one can deny that such legislation has improved safety on the road.

In Vermont, we have legislation that regulates hunting — the need for a gun-safety course, a license, and limits on the size of the magazine, for example.

The parents in Newtown, Conn., never believed a mass shooting would happen in their elementary school. The parishioners in Sutherland Springs, Texas, went to church never suspecting that they would be victims of gun violence.

How many firearm-related suicides, homicides, intimidations, accidental deaths and injuries will Vermonters need to experience before our legislators are moved to enact gun-safety legislation. Just saying that Vermont is different “ain’t necessarily so.”

Universal criminal background checks will reduce the chance that firearms will be diverted from honest commerce into the hands of criminal elements, but there are loopholes that need to be closed. The killer responsible for the Sutherland Springs massacre was never reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

One has to ask why only licensed gun shop dealers should be required to screen for unqualified individuals, including those incarcerated in prison for a term exceeding one year (a felony); those convicted of a crime of, or subjected to a court order for, domestic violence; and those having a dishonorable discharge or are felt to be a danger to themselves or others.

It has been estimated that 20 percent to 40 percent of firearm sales do not undergo criminal background checks. Since the criminal background check system has been implemented, literally millions of unqualified individuals have been denied purchasing a weapon. Surveys of state prison inmates convicted of gun-related crimes report that more than 95 percent of those inmates obtained their weapons through unlicensed dealers (including private sales, the internet and gun shows) or had stolen the weapon. It has also been shown that states requiring criminal background checks have lower suicides per capita, less gun trafficking, fewer deaths of women shot by intimate partners and fewer firearms associated with aggravated assaults.

Dec. 14 marked the fifth year since the tragic Newtown Elementary School massacre. Since that time, more than 150,000 individuals have lost their lives as a result of a firearm. This compares with the more than 58,000 military deaths suffered in the Vietnam conflict from 1956-2006. The United States is a virtual war zone. The time is long past for victims and survivors of gun violence simply to be comforted by prayers and condolences from their elected officials. One of the many important responsibilities of public officials is to assure public safety. Now is the time for you to act.

Paul Manganiello is an emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.