President Biden’s U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, says that firearm violence has become a national public health emergency.
In a 39-page plan, Murthy lays out a strategy to curb gun violence, including increasing research funding to study and evaluate prevention strategies, investing in community-based interventions and educational programs, requiring safe and secure firearm storage, and implementing universal background checks for all firearm purchases.
Murthy also supports a ban on automatic rifles. He also wants the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to restrict guns in public spaces, penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons, and introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns.
Murthy wants to regulate the industry as the government regulated tobacco products in the 1960’s.
“When the left talks about promoting intervention and investing into community-based programs dealing with gun violence, that’s nothing more than a front for the gun control crowd to come in and take your gun rights away,” says Florida gun columnist Barney Bishop.
Gun rights advocacy groups such as the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America scoffed at the surgeon general’s comments. They said it was just a backdoor plan to promote more gun control.
“Just like COVID, the liberals would love to enact another national health crisis to come after your guns,’ said Florida congressman Matt Gaetz.
Bishop brought up a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation from last year, that showed most Americans said they used a gun to protect themselves or their family members from gun violence.
“So, gun owners used a firearm to protect themselves and that is lumped in as a national emergency compared to those that used it in a crime?” Said Bishop.
The largest group dealing with gun violence is occurring is in the black communities. Republicans say that instead of addressing the problem of criminals using guns, Democrats and the Biden administration would instead be pushing another plan to that promotes gun control.
