[World Says] Foreign media: US Surgeon General declares gun violence a public health crisis, but the road to gun control is still full of obstacles
China Daily Online, June 28. According to a report on the NBC website, on June 25 local time, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis in the United States in a statement, warning that "gun violence poses a great threat to the health and well-being of our nation" and has caused serious physical and mental harm.
A 40-page advisory report from the U.S. Health Bureau shows that due to a surge in gun-related homicides and gun-related suicides, the gun-related death rate in the United States reached its highest point in nearly 30 years in 2021.
"Unfortunately, the problem continues to get worse." Murthy cited statistics that 54% of American adults reported that they or a family member had experienced a gun-related incident, whether they themselves were threatened or injured by a gun, were shot, witnessed a shooting, or lost a loved one to gun violence.
Mussy also mentioned: "In our society, many harms disproportionately affect some people. African Americans suffer the highest rate of gun homicides, and veterans, older white people, young Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rates." The impact of gun violence on children is the most heartbreaking. Since 2020, it has become the number one cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States.
“I have sat with parents who have lost children to gun violence, listened to their stories, and felt their pain as they described the hole they felt inside. As a father myself, I understand a parent’s worst nightmare is losing a child and feeling like there was nothing they could do to protect their child from harm,” he said.
According to the BBC, although the US Health Bureau's advisory report was endorsed by 10 major national medical associations in the United States, voices of opposition also followed.
Randy Kozuk, head of the Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, posted on social media that this is an expansion and extension of the current government's war on law-abiding gun owners.
At the same time, Gun Owners of America, a lobbying group that firmly defends the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, also criticized Musi on social media, saying he "abused his power" when making the statement.
In addition to opposition from gun advocacy organizations and groups, the United States also faces numerous legislative obstacles in addressing the problem of gun violence.
According to NBC, the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory report recommends increased federal investment in gun violence research, community intervention and education programs, while encouraging policymakers to pass laws on the safe storage of guns, implement universal background checks, ban civilian assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, increase mental health care, and implement effective weapon disarmament policies under the framework of extreme danger protection orders and domestic violence protection orders.
However, many similar laws only exist at the state level in the United States and face opposition and obstacles at the federal level. In response, the Indian media website Wionews said in a commentary on the 25th that the U.S. Supreme Court is more inclined to dismiss legal cases requiring gun control, such as the ban on "bump stocks" that was overturned not long ago.
Screenshot of article on Indian Wionews website
