Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America
In 2024, the US Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis. The Trump administration is trying to erase the evidence.
In June 2024, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory declaring gun violence a public health crisis. When the advisory was issued, public health officials applauded the news. After all, the American Medical Association declared gun violence a public health crisis in 2016—this was just the necessary federal acknowledgement required to treat this issue as a public health emergency.
GIFFORDS has long advocated for this crisis to be addressed as the public health epidemic it is. Unfortunately, as soon as Trump was sworn in for his second term as president, this achievement—and many others—were immediately at risk.
The US Surgeon General’s advisory was removed from the Department of Health and Human Services website shortly after Trump took office. We want to make sure everyone has access to this crucial information about why gun violence must be addressed as a public health crisis, so we’ve reposted it for everyone to use.
Below, you’ll find the advisory’s introduction, which lays out just how many people are affected by gun violence across America and sets up the rest of the report. View the entire advisory.
Firearm violence in America is a public health crisis.
Since 2020, firearm‑related injury has been the leading cause of death for US children and adolescents (ages 1–19), surpassing motor vehicle crashes, cancer, and drug overdose and poisoning. In 2022, 48,204 total people died from firearm‑related injuries, including suicides, homicides, and unintentional deaths. This is over 8,000 more lives lost than in 2019 and over 16,000 more lives lost than in 2010.
A recent nationally representative survey found that the majority of U.S. adults or their family members (54%) have experienced a firearm-related incident. Among all respondents, 21% have personally been threatened with a firearm, 19% have a family member who was killed by a firearm (including by suicide), 17% have witnessed someone being shot, 4% have shot a firearm in self-defense, and 4% have been injured by a firearm. Nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults say that they worry “sometimes,” “almost every day,” or “every day,” about a loved one being a victim of firearm violence. Such high levels of exposure to firearm violence for both children and adults give rise to a cycle of trauma and fear within our communities, contributing to the nation’s mental health crisis.
This Advisory describes the public health crisis of firearm violence in America and describes strategies for firearm injury and violence prevention, with a focus on the health and well-being of children, families, and communities.
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Our experts can speak to the full spectrum of gun violence prevention issues. Have a question? Email us at media@giffords.org.
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