US surgeon general declares gun violence a public health emergency

The U.S. surgeon general is declaring gun violence a public health crisis, driven by a growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top doctor, issued the advisory Tuesday as the U.S. grappled with another weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens of people dead or wounded. In his advisory, Murthy calls on the U.S. to ban automatic rifles and introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns. He also wants to see laws passed that would restrict the use of firearms and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons.