The Department of Health and Human Services removed a former surgeon general’s warning declaring gun violence a public health crisis to comply with the president’s executive order to protect Second Amendment rights, Politico reports. Giffords, the gun violence prevention group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, said that former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's advisor recognizing gun violence as a public health crisis was wiped from the Department of Health and Human Services’ website. Murthy — who was nominated by former President Biden — issued the advisory in June of last year, citing the increasing number of firearm-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. An HHS spokesperson said the agency "complying with President Trump’s Executive Order on Protecting Second Amendment Rights.” The White House said that President Trump made clear at his speech last Friday at the Department of Justice that he "is committed to Making America Safe Again by empowering law enforcement to uphold law and order.”
The executive order directed the federal government to halt existing policies the Trump administration deemed to be in violation of the constitutional right to bear arms. “By removing this important public health advisory with lifesaving resources, President Trump has chosen to prioritize gun industry profits over protecting kids and families,” said Emma Brown of Giffords. “Guns have been the number one killer of American children and adolescents since 2020, and non-partisan health care experts have understood gun violence as a public health crisis for years.” Trump shuttered the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention , which was launched by the Biden administration in 2023 to establish a cross-agency public health approach to gun violence prevention Murthy also served as surgeon general under former President Obama. Trump chose Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical contributor, for the position in his new administration, though she has yet to be confirmed.
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