U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has issued a landmark advisory declaring gun violence in America a public health crisis.
This historic move, marked by the first publication from the Office of the Surgeon General dedicated to this issue, underscores the devastating impact of firearm violence on the health and well-being of the nation.
The advisory is based on alarming statistics that highlight the severity of the crisis. Since 2020, firearm-related injuries have become the leading cause of death among children and adolescents aged 1 to 19, surpassing motor vehicle crashes, cancer, and drug overdoses.
In 2022 alone, 48,204 people died from firearm-related injuries, including suicides, homicides, and unintentional deaths. This represents an increase of over 8,000 deaths compared to 2019 and over 16,000 more than in 2010.
The Surgeon General’s advisory emphasizes the significant physical and mental toll of gun violence on communities nationwide.
“I want people to understand the full impact of firearm violence in our country, and I want them to see it as a public health issue,” said Murthy. “I know it’s been polarizing and I know it’s been politicized, but if we can see it as a public health issue, we can come together and implement a public health solution.”
A recent nationally representative survey found that the majority of U.S. adults or their family members (54%) have experienced a firearm-related incident.
Among the respondents, 21% have personally been threatened with a firearm, 19% have a family member who was killed by a firearm (including by suicide), and 17% have witnessed someone being shot.
Nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults worry about a loved one being a victim of firearm violence, contributing to the nation’s mental health crisis.
The advisory also highlights the disproportionate harm experienced by certain communities, including Black individuals and veterans. Black Americans face the highest risk of gun-related deaths at a rate of 27 per 100,000, compared to 6.2 per 100,000 for all other racial and ethnic groups combined.
Veterans also have significantly increased rates of suicide by gun.
Murthy’s call to action includes a public health approach to reducing firearm violence. This involves increased funding for gun violence research to inform prevention strategies and community violence interventions.
These interventions, which involve “credible messengers and practitioners,” aim to prevent violent conflict by disseminating resources within communities, such as healthcare and employment services.
The advisory advocates for measures to create safer environments, including laws to prevent children from accessing guns, mandatory universal background checks for firearm transactions, and a ban on civilian use of assault weapons.
“We’ve taken on difficult public health challenges that were complicated, and by taking a thoughtful scientific public health approach, we were able to make real progress,” Murthy said.
“The declaration by the U.S. Surgeon General is a significant step towards addressing the gun violence epidemic in the country,” said New Jersey Democrat Lisa McCormick, a gun safety advocate who noted that past public health campaigns successfully reduced deaths and injuries from tobacco and motor vehicle crashes. “As the nation grapples with so many senseless tragedies, my hope is that a unified public health approach will lead to meaningful and lasting solutions that transcend the darkness of pale politics with the light of common sense.”
“It has been a bumpy time as the Supreme Court recently overturned the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule banning bump stocks, which dramatically increase the rate at which a semiautomatic rifle can fire, approaching the rate of a fully automatic gun,” said McCormick. “The top court also ruled 8-1 in United States v. Rahimi to uphold the federal law that prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.”
McCormick derided the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act as “toothless” and said common sense gun safety laws deserve broad support in Congress just as they are favored by the majority of Americans.
“The Second Amendment does not prohibit common sense gun laws. The United States Constitution affirms our basic freedom to live free from gun violence and it specifically empowers Congress to regulate these deadly devices,” said McCormick, who insisted that background checks for gun purchasers do not hinder the right to bear arms.
“On average, there are over 121 gun deaths each day and 44,000 each year from suicides, homicides, shootings by police, and unintentional accidents,” said McCormick. “The only reason for this uniquely American problem—a higher rate of gun violence than any other high-income country—is that the United States has more guns than people.”
“If guns made us safer, America would be the safest country in the world,” said McCormick. “Instead, we are 26 times more likely to be shot and killed than people in other high-income countries.”
working to move the discussion of gun violence beyond the polarizing politics in American life.