USA – US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared gun violence a public health crisis in the United States. In an advisory issued on Tuesday, Murthy called for more stringent laws to limit the widespread availability of firearms, which many blame for the country’s unparalleled levels of gun violence.

“Firearm violence is an urgent public health crisis that has led to loss of life, unimaginable pain, and profound grief for far too many Americans,” Murthy said in a statement. While high-profile mass shootings attract a large share of attention, everyday gun violence is a persistent threat that has led to a dismal upward trend of gun injuries and deaths. Murthy noted on Tuesday that young people and communities of colour are especially impacted.

It is unclear what changes, if any, the declaration could bring, with efforts to enact gun control at a standstill at the federal level, where many conservative politicians resolutely oppose any efforts to place greater limitations on firearms access. Many Republican-led states have moved to further roll back existing restrictions. The National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful political group that has fought to further loosen limits to firearms access, called the advisory an “extension of the Biden administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners”. Murthy said that the impact of gun violence extends beyond the roughly 50,000 people killed in the US per year, with lingering effects for those who witness or survive shootings or deal with injuries or the loss of loved ones. (Al Jazeera) …[+]