Gun violence has created a large-scale cycle of trauma and fear that’s damaging Americans’ mental health, making children fearful of going to school and adults of going to public places, said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in declaring a public health crisis. Murthy cited the mental health toll beyond direct victims in making the case for Congress to pass legislation aimed at reducing gun violence. He cited the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the 2022 law Congress passed after mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Tex., as evidence that lawmakers can work together on the issue. The law strengthened background checks and provided federal funding for mental health interventions, Politico reports. Even so, “a deep sense of fear” now pervades society, Murthy said, tying it to high-profile mass shootings. “We think about where many of these mass shootings are taking place — in schools, at parades, at concerts, in houses of worship — these are part of the fundamental components of our day-to-day life.” While mass-shooting deaths account for just one percent of firearm fatalities, they play an outsize role in how safe Americans are feeling, Murthy said.
Murthy’s report endorses policies like universal background checks and safe firearm storage laws, regulating guns like other consumer products, and more funding for gun violence research, community-based violence prevention initiatives and emergency preparedness programs. “This isn’t one of those issues that has one simple solution that’s going to take care of 90 percent of the problem,” he said. Murthy’s advisory is part of his wider agenda on mental health. He’s warned about the danger social media poses and the overlapping risks of isolation and loneliness. Murthy drew ire from the National Rifle Association when President Obama nominated him to serve as surgeon general in 2013 for Murthy’s past comments on guns, including a 2012 tweet, in which he wrote: “Tired of politicians playing politics w/ guns, putting lives at risk b/c they’re scared of NRA. Guns are a health care issue.”