Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Labels Gun Violence As An ‘Urgent’ Public Health Crisis

Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, declared that the issue of gun violence is an “urgent” public health crisis.

During an announcement on June 25, Murthy stated that the increasing number of children killed by firearms made an “urgent public health crisis” worthy of the response the government took to inhibiting cigarette smoking or car accidents.

In an advisory, the surgeon general stated that gun violence requires public health now that gun violence has become the number one cause of death in children.

He mentioned that public health campaigns offered a playbook for discussing the issue of gun violence, which kills almost 50,000 people a year.

“I want people to know this is a profound public health crisis, but it is a solvable one,” he told USA Today. “As a nation, we are not powerless. We can do something about it.”

Murthy’s approach involves various responses, such as warning labels on firearms, as well as additional consumer products, reinstating the ban on assault weapons and laws on safe gun storage to decrease the risk of homicides and suicides.

He also highlighted the increased need for mental health resources for victims of gun violence, like trauma-informed health care and school-based services. 

In a statement posted on X, Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, the organization’s lobbying arm, slammed Murthy’s advisory. 

“This is an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners,” Kozuch declared. “America has a crime problem caused by criminals. The reluctance to prosecute and punish criminals on the part of President Biden and many of his allies is the primary cause of that. That’s a simple fact.”

The U.S. has already seen 235 mass shootings in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks incidents involving four or more victims. 

Murthy’s call for an immediate public health response follows similar calls for intervention from the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association, which long identified gun violence as a public health conflict. 

However, the surgeon general’s role as America’s top physician during two presidential administrations gives the declaration more weight.

His advisory draws from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response to violence prevention, which starts with monitoring through data and research, examining risks and calling for widespread adoption. 

The advisory notes interventions in communities and schools, mental health support, secure gun storage, background checks and effective gun removal policies.

It also clearly demands banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use, on top of restrictions on carrying loaded firearms in public spaces, concealed and open carry, and rules about using firearms in public.

Gun violence has steadily increased in recent years.

In 2022, over 48,000 people died by gun violence, according to the advisory, compared to 16,000 more deaths than in 2010. 

The advisory pointed out that firearm-related suicides increased by 20%, including a “staggering increase” in such deaths among young individuals.

In 2020, gun violence trumped car accidents as the leading cause of death among children. Firearm deaths among children and adolescents in America are six times as frequent in the U.S. than in Canada and happen at over ten times the rate in Switzerland. 

In the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the death rate by firearms is almost 50 times lower than in America.

“Gun violence has now become a kids’ issue,” Murthy declared. “In my mind, that elevates the urgency and importance of addressing this public health crisis.”

Murthy has been fearless in weighing in on social issues.

In 2015, Murthy discussed on CBS This Morning that the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal purposes are worth taking seriously.

In an op-ed published in The New York Times last week, Murthy called for warning labels on social media to inform adolescents of its unpleasant effects.

He compared the labels on social media to those on tobacco products, highlighting increased user awareness.

Murthy mentioned that a warning label alone would not protect children from social media. He suggested that Congress push a law that would “shield young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation and exposure to extreme violence and sexual content.”

The surgeon general also noted that schools can help ensure children spend time away from their phones by encouraging a “phone-free” environment.