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On Tuesday, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a landmark advisory declaring gun violence a public health crisis in the United States and called for gun control measures to address the rapid rise in gun deaths.
“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,” Murthy said in a statement. “All Americans deserve to live their lives free from firearm violence, as well as from the fear and devastation that it brings. It will take the collective commitment of our nation to turn the tide on firearm violence.”
In addition to recommending research investments and increased mental health support, Murthy called on Congress to ban automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines, and implement universal background checks and safe-storage laws.
As my colleague, Mark Follman, has covered for nearly a decade, the US has been in the throes of a gun violence epidemic, a crisis that has been fueled by aggressive marketing tactics targeting young people. According to the advisory, firearm-related homicides and suicides have both seen a steady increase over the past decade, with guns being the leading cause of death among children and adolescents since 2020.
The advisory comes on the heels of Murphy’s call last week for legislators to instill warning labels on social media platforms to curb the rising mental illness and suicide rates among the country’s youth. This measure could also help reduce children’s exposure to the gun industry’s targeted social media marketing tactics. Follman writes:
Surgeon General Murthy’s essay in the New York Times noted a recent survey showing that parents would be likely to limit or monitor their children’s social media use if the platforms carried a surgeon general’s warning. The utility is clear regarding gun violence: Since 2020, firearms have been the leading cause of death for children and teens in America, killing thousands each year. Shootings and threats of gun violence in schools have also escalated sharply—part of an ongoing national crisis that parents can play a greater role in stopping.
