US surgeon general declares US gun violence an urgent public health crisis

Gun violence in the United States is an urgent public health crisis that demands the “collective commitment of the nation” to stop it, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says in a new advisory released Tuesday.

Gun violence in the United States is an urgent public health crisis that demands the “collective commitment of the nation” to stop it, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says in a new advisory released Tuesday. It’s the first time a publication from the Office of the Surgeon General has focused on firearm violence and its “profound consequences” on survivors, communities, and mental health. A surgeon general’s advisory is typically used to draw attention to significant public health challenges, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Typically, advisories are shorter than surgeon general reports, such as a well-known 1964 report about the dangers of smoking, which include a comprehensive scientific review documents. Tuesday’s advisory spells out how devastating gun violence has been in the United States and details how public health strategies can help. In 2022 alone, more than 48,000 people in the US died from firearm-related injuries, according to provisional data. That number included homicides, suicides and unintentional deaths. The rate of firearm-related deaths in the US has been rising, according to the advisory, reaching a three-decade high in 2021. Since then, data has shown a decrease in gun-related homicides, while the number of gun-related suicides have stayed about the same, the advisory says. While mass shootings are still rare, making up just about 1% of gun deaths, the number of mass shooting incidents has been rising, according to the advisory.