Columbus top doctor reacts to gun violence being called a national health crisis

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The gun violence plaguing major metropolitan cities and small towns in the United States has officially been declared a national public health crisis by the U.S. Surgeon General.

A 40-page advisory outlined the statistics around deaths related to firearms as well as proposals for lawmakers on how to reduce gun-related injuries and deaths.

Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts said the data and deaths associated with gun violence are alarming. To learn that the nation’s doctor, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, has declared gun violence a public health crisis is no surprise to Roberts, but adds that it is a designation long overdue.

“My initial reactions were, ‘I think my mayor had said that several years ago,’ so I kind of felt like the Surgeon General was late to the party,” Roberts said. “We've been recognizing that gun violence and all violence is a public health issue for several years here in Columbus.”

The surgeon general’s 40-page report calls for the banning of assault weapons, more regulation on the gun industry, and universal background checks.

Roberts said the department will also review the recommendations to see how they can add to the work her office already has in place.

“I think it can open the doors in the future for more funding, particularly at the federal level,” Roberts said.  “If we could get more support, whether it be from the state or from the feds on that work, that would be great. That would allow us to expand that work.”

There has been pushback to the surgeon general’s report on gun violence as a public health crisis. On X, formerly Twitter, the NRA criticized the report, calling it “an extension of the Biden Administration's war on law-abiding gun owners.”