NYC Gazette

WASHINGTON, DC – On the last day of Gun Violence Awareness Month, U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), along with Senator Cory Booker (NJ), joined Reps. Barbara Lee (CA-12), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Cori Bush (MO-01), and Maxwell Frost (FL-10) on a letter with over 50 of their colleagues urging HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to publish a report to uplift the urgency of addressing gun violence as a threat to our nation’s public health.

“Since the start of 2023, there have been over 290 mass shootings in the United States – nearly two each day of this year,” the lawmakers wrote. “We acknowledge and appreciate the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) commitment to keep our communities safe, but more must be done to effectively curb gun violence. We urge HHS to publish a Surgeon General report to uplift the urgency of addressing gun violence as a threat to our nation’s public health.”

“Gun violence in the United States constitutes a clear and present public health crisis, in my district and in communities across the nation,” said Rep. Espaillat. “In the past, in response to other seemingly intractable public health crises—such as high rates of smoking and motor vehicle crashes—our country’s top health scientists stepped in to offer solutions to combat these problems and their impact on individuals and families. As a result of previous U.S. Surgeon General reports and recommendations in these areas, federal and state regulations were implemented, and lives were saved. Notably, these results were achieved via government measures that fell far short of a complete ban on either tobacco or motor vehicles. With swift action from the Office of the Surgeon General, we are confident that the same life-saving results can be achieved with respect to firearms.”

The full text of the letter is available here. 

Original source can be found here.