Surgeon general calls gun violence a health crisis

Gun violence overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death for children in 2020

(Image credit: Jim Bennett / WireImage)

published 26 June 2024

What happened

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared gun violence an "urgent public health crisis" on Tuesday. His first-of-its-kind advisory urged the U.S. to tackle the physical and psychological harms from shootings with the same tools and intensity used to promote smoking cessation, seat belt use and other nonpartisan public health interventions.

More than 48,000 Americans died from firearm injuries in 2022, more than half of those deaths suicides. Gun violence overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death for children in 2020. There is "broad agreement" that gun violence is a problem, and Americans need to know "this is a profound" but "solvable public health crisis," Murthy said to USA Today. "We can do something about it."

His proposals included warning labels for firearms, banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, mandating safe gun storage, and increasing mental health resources for victims and witnesses of gun violence. On X, the National Rifle Association called Murthy's advisory "an extension of the Biden Administration's war on law-abiding gun owners."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.