Monday numbers: U.S. Surgeon General says firearm violence is a public health crisis

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued a national health crisis advisory on the issue of firearm violence. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently issued a national health crisis advisory to the American public that was, according to many experts, long overdue.

The subject: gun violence.

As the advisory spells out in grim detail, firearm violence has been on a steady and destructive rise across the U.S. for the last several years and has reached the point at which it is “now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents.”

The advisory also points out that the impact of gun violence extends “beyond death and injury.” It notes that the gun violence has produced “layers of cascading harm for youth, families, communities, and other populations” and that this includes “the detrimental impact that this rise has had on the mental wellbeing on the broader public.”

“With nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults worrying ‘sometimes,’ ‘almost every day,’ or ‘every day,’ about a loved one being a victim of firearm violence,” the release accompanying the report notes, “the effects of the public health crisis extend well beyond physical health – it has led to a collective trauma across society that warrants heightened attention.”

Not surprisingly, Murthy’s advisory provoked widely varying responses. AP News reported that while many healthcare professionals lauded the advisory, the National Rifle Association attacked it.

A statement from the President of the American Academy of Family Physicians observed that “Family physicians have long understood, and have seen first hand, the devastating impact firearm violence has on our patients and the communities we serve.”

The president of the NRA, however, decried the announcement as “an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners.”

Murthy’s announcement will not have any immediate, on-the-ground impact, but it’s hoped that it could open the door to more public health research on the subject — much in the same way that Surgeon General initiatives once paved the way for a stronger national response to cigarette smoking.

As the advisory conclusion states:

“A public health approach can guide our strategy and actions, as it has done in the past with successful efforts to address tobacco-related disease and motor vehicle crashes. It is up to us to take on this generational challenge with the urgency and clarity the moment demands. The safety and well-being of our children and future generations are at stake.”

The following numbers are from the Advisory :

#1 – rank of firearm deaths among causes of death for U.S. children and adolescents from 2020 to 2022

2020 – the first year that firearm deaths surpassed motor vehicle deaths for this group

54 – percentage of U.S. adults who say they or a family member  has experienced a firearm-related incident

21 – percentage who say they’ve been threatened with a firearm

19 – percentage who say have a family member who was killed by a firearm (including suicide)

17 – percentage who say they’ve witnesses someone being shot

20 – percentage increase in firearm-related suicides from 2012 to 2022

68 – percentage increase for children age 10-14

36.4 – number of firearm deaths per million U.S. children and adolescents in 2019

6.4 – the rate in Canada – the nation with the second highest rate

More than 600 – number of mass shooting incidents per year the U.S. experienced between 2020 and 2023

Less than 400 – the average in 2015-2018

79 – percentage of U.S. adults who report experiencing stress from the possibility of mass shooting

51 – percentage of U.S. teens (age 14-17) who worry “about a shooting happening at my school or a local school near me”

33 – percentage who say fear prevents them from going to certain places or events.

56 – percentage of unintentional firearm deaths among children and adolescents that happened in their own home

$878 million – amount of federal dollars spent on research related to children and adolescents in motor vehicle crashes between 2008-17

$12 million – amount spent during the same period on research related to firearm injury prevention for children and adolescents

The post Monday numbers: U.S. Surgeon General says firearm violence is a public health crisis appeared first on NC Newsline .