But that status dramatically changed with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s June 25th declaration of “gun violence” as a public health crisis. This political stance attempted to provide Second Amendment opponents with ammunition for targeting the nation’s rich tradition of sports shooters and the right to self-defense.
He described “firearm violence” as the latest and most urgent “crisis” facing the United States.
Murthy overlooked the scourge of heart disease, cancer and other genuine public health threats to castigate “firearm violence.” And while any defender of gun rights is appalled at the spread of criminal activity, calling for more oppressive gun control is misguided and unconstitutional.
If a government leader is truly concerned with ridding the nation of violence, they are much better off proposing tougher penalties for harming the innocent. They would oppose measures that create a revolving door of justice and keep bad guys on the streets.
Instead, they prefer the soft targets of law-abiding citizens.
Murthy’s politicizing of gun control did not sit well with National Rifle Association (NRA) president Bob Barr. The gun rights proponent argued in his weekly newsletter that nothing is accomplished by juxtaposing political statements with public health policy.
“Unlike his predecessors, who employed the bully pulpit of their office to crusade against arguably public health-related issues such as smoking and AIDS, Murthy’s June 25th Surgeon General’s Advisory has nothing to do with any reasoned or common sense definition of health. It does, however, have everything to do with politics; in this case, the one policy issue liberals invariably turn to as a way to rally their base — gun control.”
Barr noted that the mainstream media was effusive in praising Murthy’s proclamation. This is hardly surprising as traditional outlets tend to push the gun control narrative and ignore real solutions to violent crime.
There is a crisis in the country, of that, there is no doubt. However, ripping away self-protection rights from good citizens is hardly the solution and only exacerbates the growing problem.
The NRA president noted the retreading of anti-gun tropes in the surgeon general’s message that offered no real solutions.
“Despite the document’s veneer of approaching the ‘generational’ public health crisis of gun violence, it is nothing more than the same, tired recitation of control measures pressed by the gun control movement for decades — including banning ‘assault weapons,’ instituting ‘universal background checks,’ and mandating firearms lock boxes. Nothing, incidentally, about stronger and more effective enforcement of laws on the books against the criminal misuse of firearms.”
Barr pointed to Murthy’s choice of statistics to attempt to bolster an old argument. The attorney general claimed that 60% of U.S. adults “sometimes” worry about firearm violence.
Well, of course they do. And that raises substantial questions about the other 40% and their situational awareness considering the current state of the criminal justice system.
There is no group more opposed to acts of violence and supporting serious measures to end criminal activity and suicide than Second Amendment advocates. Those who value gun rights are all too aware of harm rendered by those who misuse weapons that are meant for self-defense and sporting purposes.
Finally, it is extremely telling to note that Murthy’s 39-page missive on his designation of firearm violence as a public health crisis never once mentioned the Second Amendment. Not a single reference to the right to keep and bear arms that is enshrined in the Constitution.
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