With tens of thousands of people now dying every year from firearms, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared firearm violence a public health crisis.
In an advisory issued by Murthy on Tuesday, the Surgeon General pointed to not only the tragic loss of life but also the traumatic impact that gun violence has, which he says has “major reverberations” that impact the wider population.
“We have for every one person who loses their life to gun violence, we have two individuals who survive that are injured. We have people who witness the impact of these incidences, these episodes of violence, and then suffer often the mental health consequences in the form of depression, anxiety, and PTSD,” Murthy told The Hill.
Murthy shared with the Associated Press that gun violence should be the last thing Americans have to worry about. But instead, the number of those impacted by gun violence continues to rise.
“People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe,” Murthy said. “America should be a place where all of us can go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our house of worship, without having to worry that that’s going to put our life at risk.”
In the advisory, Murthy pointed to recent statistics on gun violence and the continued rise in firearm-related deaths and injuries.
“In 2022, 48,204 total people died from firearm‑related injuries, including suicides, homicides, and unintentional deaths,” Murthy’s advisory said. “This is over 8,000 more lives lost than in 2019 and over 16,000 more lives lost than in 2010.”
Another point that Murthy looked to was the number of young people and children who are affected by gun violence.
“Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among kids. That was not true five years ago. It was not true 10 years ago, and it is true now. And that, in my mind, should be alarming to all of us,” he said.
Reports have also shown that firearm-related suicides have shot up 43% among 24-and 25-year-olds, 45% among 15-to 24-year-olds, and 68% among 10-to 14-year-olds from 2012 to 2022.
“There has been a disproportionate increase in firearm violence, particularly suicide among younger population,” Murthy said. “This, I think, is consistent with an issue that we started talking about in the very first year of my term in 2021, which is a broader youth mental health crisis that we’re experiencing right now in our country.”
When it comes to his plan to address gun violence, Murthy pointed to investments that could be made, comparing it to other public health crises the nation has faced.
“I believe when we’re at our best as a country, we can actually lead globally on health issues. It’s something that we did with HIV, which was a profound challenge in America and across the world,” he added. “I would like to actually demonstrate similar leadership when it comes to addressing gun violence.”