A sharp rise in the number of children killed by guns creates an “urgent public health crisis” that merits government action to prevent smoking and traffic accidents, the nation’s top doctor said for the first time Tuesday.
In his recommendations, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said gun violence requires a public health approach, not a polarized political response that has left Americans and public officials unable to make change as gun violence has become the leading cause of death among children. He said the public health campaign offers guidance for addressing America’s unique gun violence problem, which claims about 50,000 lives a year.
“I want people to know that this is a serious public health crisis, but it’s a solvable public health crisis,” he told USA Today. “As a nation, we are not powerless. We can do something about this.”
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Murthy’s approach includes a range of measures, including requiring warning labels on firearms like other consumer products, reinstating the assault weapons ban and enacting laws for safe storage of firearms to reduce the risk of homicide and suicide.. He also highlighted the increased need for mental health resources for victims of gun violence, including trauma-informed health care and school-based services.
In a statement posted to social media Tuesday morning, officials with the National Rifle Association called Murthy’s recommendation “an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners.”
“This is largely due to the reluctance of President Biden and many of his allies to prosecute and punish criminals,” said Randy Kozuk, executive director of the Legislative Action Institute, the lobbying arm of the NRA.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks incidents with four or more victims, there have already been 235 mass shootings in the United States through 2024. Murders and suicides are less commonly reported but drive up the U.S. death toll.
Murthy’s call for immediate public health action follows similar calls for intervention from the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association, which have long recognized gun violence as a public health threat, but the declaration carries added weight because Murthy served as the nation’s top physician under two presidential administrations.
Is it important to treat gun violence as a public health issue?
Mursi has previously issued advisories about public health crises, including warnings about the dangers of social media and the loneliness epidemic. During the Obama administration, he also issued a crisis alert about e-cigarettes. Historically, the Surgeon General has issued warnings about pressing health issues. Mursi said he believes his advisory will serve as a catalyst for broader public awareness of the toll of gun violence in America.
“The public health approach is fundamentally about making sure that you clearly define the problem and its health impacts,” he said, adding that data must be used to understand the scope of the problem and those most affected.
What difference does an official warning make?
Murthy’s recommendations are modeled on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response to violence prevention, which begins with oversight through data and research, consideration of risks and calling for widespread implementation.
The recommendations emphasize community and school interventions, mental health support, safe and secure gun storage, background checks, and effective gun confiscation policies. They also explicitly call for bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for civilians, restrictions on carrying loaded guns in public places, and regulations on concealed, open carry, and the use of guns in public places.
The recommendations call for the United States to treat gun regulations like other consumer products, with auto standards, pesticide regulations, Food and Drug Administration approvals, etc. Guns do not have the same safety tests or safety features (including warning labels) as other products.
Mortality rates among young people far exceed those of other countries
Gun violence has been steadily increasing in recent years. The recommendations say more than 48,000 people will die from gun violence in 2022, 16,000 more than in 2010. Firearm-related suicides have increased by 20 percent and there has been an “alarming increase” in youth suicides, the recommendations say.
The recommendations say that owning a gun increases the risk of an entire family dying by homicide or suicide, and that unlocked guns also increase the risk of young people dying by suicide, accidents, or being injured in unintentional firearms.
Gun violence surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death among children in 2020. The U.S. firearm death rate among children and adolescents is six times higher than in Canada and more than 10 times higher than in Switzerland. In the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the gun death rate is nearly 50 times lower than in the United States.
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“Gun violence is now a kids’ issue,” Murthy said. “In my opinion, that adds to the urgency and importance of addressing this public health crisis.”
People of color are disproportionately affected by gun violence because they are disproportionately more likely to live in poverty and marginalized communities where the risk of being shot is higher.
The ripple effects of gun violence are far-reaching and extend beyond the victims. People who witness a shooting or lose a loved one to gun violence are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, according to the recommendations. Families of victims also face mental health challenges. Children who lose a parent to homicide or suicide are more likely to experience depression, heart disease and cancer, and these experiences have been shown to have lifelong impacts in school and the workplace, the recommendations state..
Mass shootings, which account for a small percentage of gun deaths in the United States, have a significant impact on mental health and cause people to worry about the risks of going to public places and events, the advisory said.
How can public health help solve the problem?
Murthy said he hopes the recommendations will raise awareness and encourage health systems and lawmakers to prioritize solutions.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Surgeon General, Luther Terry, issued an advisory saying tobacco use was dangerous and caused cancer. At the time, smoking was “deeply ingrained in the social fabric of America,” Murthy said.
A year later, Congress enacted a law requiring warning labels on tobacco products, and federal reports show tobacco use has plummeted since then, along with declines in lung cancer and youth smoking, according to the Institute for Congressional Studies at the University of Delaware.
Identifying the public health risks of smoking has led to a culture change that has made Americans safer, and the same can be said about gun violence, Murthy said.
