US Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence ‘Public Health Crisis’
A man holding an anti-violence sign. Photo: X/ @TheNewsCompany1
June 25, 2024 Hour: 10:57 am
‘We don’t have to subject our children to the ongoing horror of firearm violence,’ Murthy said.
On Tuesday, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a “public health crisis” in the United States, recommending an array of preventive measures that he compared to past campaigns against smoking and traffic safety.
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“The step follows years of calls by health officials to view firearm deaths through the lens of health rather than politics,” said The New York Times in a report.
Murthy’s advisory calls for an increase in funding for firearm violence prevention research, advises health workers to discuss firearm storage with patients during routine medical visits, and recommends safe storage laws, universal background checks, “red flag” laws and an assault weapons ban, among other measures.
“I’ve long believed this is a public health issue. This issue has been politicized, has been polarized over time. But I think when we understand that this is a public health issue, we have the opportunity to take it out of the realm of politics and put it into the realm of public health,” he said.
“In 2022, 48,204 total people died from firearm-related injuries, including suicides, homicides, and unintentional deaths… This is over 8,000 more lives lost than in 2019 and over 16,000 more lives lost than in 2010,” the U.S. Surgeon General recalled.
Experts estimate that 400 million guns are circulating in private hands, making it nearly impossible for the government to meaningfully restrict access to them. In 2020, gunshot wounds surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States.
“We don’t have to continue down this path, and we don’t have to subject our children to the ongoing horror of firearm violence in America. All Americans deserve to live their lives free from firearm violence, as well as from the fear and devastation that it brings,” Murthy added.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: Xinhua - FMT
