LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. (WXYZ) — For the first time in U.S. history, the surgeon general issued an advisory declaring that gun violence is a public health crisis.
“Firearm violence is a public health crisis and our failure to address it is a moral crisis,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said. "We have now reached the point where gun violence is the leading cause of death among kids and teens, leading cause of death. That is something that we should never take as the new normal. There's nothing normal about that.”
For teenagers like Dylan Morris, the advisory is welcomed. Morris was a student at Oxford High School and survived a mass shooting three years ago, watching again as mass shootings unfolded at Michigan State University and most recently at a splash pad in Rochester Hills.
“We know all too well here in Oxford what the impact of gun violence can have. It’s truly awful,” Morris said. "For a survivor, it always shakes you up every time that you hear of another mass shooting that has happened either here in the state of Michigan or another country, and even hearing about incidents of every day community violence happening or firearm suicide, that shakes you up too.”
According to the advisory, only 1% of gun violence deaths are from mass shootings, but the incidents are rising, causing a collective trauma on society. The surgeon general says this is having a strong impact on the nation’s mental health.
“The impact of gun violence is far more wide-reaching than we think," Murthy said. "Six in 10 Americans are worried about a loved one being shot. Half of our kids are worried about a shooting in their school.”
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The advisory calls for more gun violence prevention strategies, pointing to evidence-based laws that were enacted following past surgeon general advisories like those against cigarette smoking and drunken driving.
“After each of these advisories, we've seen historic shifts in how we address these issues, so we’re hoping this will be the same with gun violence,” Morris said.
In response to the advisory, Randy Kozuch, executive director of the National Rifle Association, issued a statement saying:
“This is an extension of the Biden Administration's war on law-abiding gun owners. America has a crime problem caused by criminals. The reluctance to prosecute and punish criminals on the part of President Biden and many of his allies is the primary cause of that. That's a simple fact."
“The issue of gun violence has been politicized and polarized over the years, but my hope with this advisory is we can actually take it out of the realm of politics and put it in the realm of public health where it belongs,” Murthy said.
According to that advisory, more than 48,000 Americans died from gun-related injuries in 2022, and there have been more than 600 mass shootings in each of the last four years.
