In June 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a landmark Advisory declaring firearm violence a public health crisis in America, urging immediate awareness and action.

The Advisory provides an overview of firearm-related death and injury epidemiology in the U.S., the toll of firearm violence, including impacts on communities, children and adolescents, and families, and discusses factors contributing to firearm violence, including socioeconomic, geographic, and racial inequities, as well as lethality, availability, and access to firearms.

The Advisory also calls for four areas of action to improve public health, including: critical research investments, community risk reduction and education prevention strategies, firearm risk reduction prevention strategies, and ways to address the mental health burden of firearm violence.

At CVP, we believe that knowledge is power, and that data and research save lives. We applauded the Surgeon General’s effort to draw the American people’s attention to firearm injury, an urgent public health issue. Further, we were honored to have CVP research cited in the Advisory, helping to shape our collective understanding of violence and its prevention. We steadfastly continue our work to build the evidence base that community members and change makers can rely on for effective violence prevention strategies.

Learn more about research and strategies to prevent violence in the Surgeon General's Advisory on Firearm Violence.