Washington: US Surgeon General announced on Tuesday gun violence A public health crisis, driven by rapidly rising numbers of injuries and deaths Firearms in country.
Advisory issued by Dr. Vivek MurthyThe statement from the nation’s top doctor comes as the United States grapples with another summer weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens dead or injured.
“People want to walk around their neighborhoods and be safe,” Murthy said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “America should be a place where we can all go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our place of worship without worrying that our lives will be in danger.”
To reduce gun deaths, Murthy calls for the US to ban automatic rifles, introduce universal background checks for gun purchases, regulate the industry, pass laws restricting their use in public places, and penalize those who fail to store their weapons safely.
None of these suggestions can be implemented nationwide without legislation passed by Congress, which typically backs away from gun control measures. However, some state legislatures have implemented or may be considering some of the surgeon general’s proposals.
Surgeon General Murthy said there is “broad consensus” that gun violence is a problem, citing a survey last year that found most Americans worry at least sometimes that a loved one might be injured by a gun. More than 48,000 Americans died from gun injuries in 2022.
Doctors were quick to praise Murthy’s advice. For example, the American Academy of Family Physicians has considered gun violence a public health epidemic for more than a decade.
“Family physicians have long understood and seen firsthand the devastating impact gun violence has on our patients and the communities we serve,” the group’s president, Steven Furr, said in a statement.
However, Murthy’s mentorship is likely to be controversial with the gun lobby and is sure to anger Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed his appointment – twice – because of his statements on gun violence.
The National Rifle Association promptly denounced Murtha’s advice.
“This is an extension of the Biden administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners,” Randy Kozuch, the organization’s president, said in a statement on X.
It was the NRA and Republicans, who have the backing of the powerful gun lobby, who nearly derailed Murthy’s confirmation as surgeon general a decade ago. Murthy has gone quiet on the issue of gun violence since his previous statements nearly cost him the job. He promised the Senate that he “does not intend to use my office as surgeon general as a bully pulpit on gun control.”
Then-President Donald Trump fired Murthy in 2017, but President Joe Biden nominated him again in 2021.
Murthy has published warnings about troubling health trends in American life, including loneliness and social media use. In an op-ed in The New York Times this month, he said social media has fueled a mental health crisis among the nation’s young people and urged Congress to require that social media platforms bear warning labels similar to those on cigarette cartons.
But he also faces growing pressure from some doctors and Democratic advocacy groups to speak openly about the issue. A group of four former surgeon generals has called on the Biden administration to produce a report on the problem in 2022.
“It’s time to move this issue out of the realm of politics into the realm of public health, just as we did with smoking more than half a century ago,” Murthy told the AP.
It was the 1964 Surgeon General’s report that raised awareness of the dangers of smoking, which is credited with reducing tobacco use and bringing regulation on the industry.
Murthy now hopes his advice on guns will change the conversation on this issue as well. He is encouraged by some developments in Congress, including the passage of the bipartisan Secure Communities Act in 2022, which expanded background checks for firearms.
A White House report obtained by The Associated Press said more thorough background checks have prevented the sale of nearly 800 firearms to people under the age of 21. Additionally, more than 500 people, some with ties to international gangs and organized crime gangs, have been charged with gun trafficking and other crimes under the landmark gun safety law.
Murthy writes in his advisory, “Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America,” that children and young Americans are particularly disproportionately affected by gun violence. The rate of gun suicides has increased by nearly 70% among children ages 10 to 14. Research he has collected shows that children in the U.S. are far more likely to die from gunshot wounds than children in other countries.
For pediatricians, talking to families about locking their guns away from children has become a routine part of healthcare visits, said Benjamin Hoffman, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. When children can’t get access to guns, it can prevent a huge number of gun-related deaths and injuries — accidental shootings and suicides.
“Having access to a gun for a child who is going through a behavioral health crisis can lead to the most tragic events you can imagine,” Hoffman said.
Even when children are not direct victims of a gunshot, they can still suffer the adverse mental health effects of gun violence, the report said. Nearly half of teens in the U.S. worry about school shootings. And in areas where there have been fatal school shootings, the use of antidepressants among youth has increased by more than 20%.
In addition to new regulations, Murthy has called for increased research on gun violence and for the health system to educate and promote patients about gun safety and proper storage during checkups.
Advisory issued by Dr. Vivek MurthyThe statement from the nation’s top doctor comes as the United States grapples with another summer weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens dead or injured.
“People want to walk around their neighborhoods and be safe,” Murthy said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “America should be a place where we can all go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our place of worship without worrying that our lives will be in danger.”
To reduce gun deaths, Murthy calls for the US to ban automatic rifles, introduce universal background checks for gun purchases, regulate the industry, pass laws restricting their use in public places, and penalize those who fail to store their weapons safely.
None of these suggestions can be implemented nationwide without legislation passed by Congress, which typically backs away from gun control measures. However, some state legislatures have implemented or may be considering some of the surgeon general’s proposals.
Surgeon General Murthy said there is “broad consensus” that gun violence is a problem, citing a survey last year that found most Americans worry at least sometimes that a loved one might be injured by a gun. More than 48,000 Americans died from gun injuries in 2022.
Doctors were quick to praise Murthy’s advice. For example, the American Academy of Family Physicians has considered gun violence a public health epidemic for more than a decade.
“Family physicians have long understood and seen firsthand the devastating impact gun violence has on our patients and the communities we serve,” the group’s president, Steven Furr, said in a statement.
However, Murthy’s mentorship is likely to be controversial with the gun lobby and is sure to anger Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed his appointment – twice – because of his statements on gun violence.
The National Rifle Association promptly denounced Murtha’s advice.
“This is an extension of the Biden administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners,” Randy Kozuch, the organization’s president, said in a statement on X.
It was the NRA and Republicans, who have the backing of the powerful gun lobby, who nearly derailed Murthy’s confirmation as surgeon general a decade ago. Murthy has gone quiet on the issue of gun violence since his previous statements nearly cost him the job. He promised the Senate that he “does not intend to use my office as surgeon general as a bully pulpit on gun control.”
Then-President Donald Trump fired Murthy in 2017, but President Joe Biden nominated him again in 2021.
Murthy has published warnings about troubling health trends in American life, including loneliness and social media use. In an op-ed in The New York Times this month, he said social media has fueled a mental health crisis among the nation’s young people and urged Congress to require that social media platforms bear warning labels similar to those on cigarette cartons.
But he also faces growing pressure from some doctors and Democratic advocacy groups to speak openly about the issue. A group of four former surgeon generals has called on the Biden administration to produce a report on the problem in 2022.
“It’s time to move this issue out of the realm of politics into the realm of public health, just as we did with smoking more than half a century ago,” Murthy told the AP.
It was the 1964 Surgeon General’s report that raised awareness of the dangers of smoking, which is credited with reducing tobacco use and bringing regulation on the industry.
Murthy now hopes his advice on guns will change the conversation on this issue as well. He is encouraged by some developments in Congress, including the passage of the bipartisan Secure Communities Act in 2022, which expanded background checks for firearms.
A White House report obtained by The Associated Press said more thorough background checks have prevented the sale of nearly 800 firearms to people under the age of 21. Additionally, more than 500 people, some with ties to international gangs and organized crime gangs, have been charged with gun trafficking and other crimes under the landmark gun safety law.
Murthy writes in his advisory, “Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America,” that children and young Americans are particularly disproportionately affected by gun violence. The rate of gun suicides has increased by nearly 70% among children ages 10 to 14. Research he has collected shows that children in the U.S. are far more likely to die from gunshot wounds than children in other countries.
For pediatricians, talking to families about locking their guns away from children has become a routine part of healthcare visits, said Benjamin Hoffman, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. When children can’t get access to guns, it can prevent a huge number of gun-related deaths and injuries — accidental shootings and suicides.
“Having access to a gun for a child who is going through a behavioral health crisis can lead to the most tragic events you can imagine,” Hoffman said.
Even when children are not direct victims of a gunshot, they can still suffer the adverse mental health effects of gun violence, the report said. Nearly half of teens in the U.S. worry about school shootings. And in areas where there have been fatal school shootings, the use of antidepressants among youth has increased by more than 20%.
In addition to new regulations, Murthy has called for increased research on gun violence and for the health system to educate and promote patients about gun safety and proper storage during checkups.
