Feds de-emphasize gun violence as a public health issue

INDIANAPOLIS — Last summer, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared gun violence was a public health crisis in the United States.

That advisory led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create a page on its website titled “Firearm Violence in America” which included Dr. Murthy’s declaration, relevant data and even a link to a suicide prevention lifeline.

At the time, the NRA called the Advisory and webpage, “An extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners. America has a crime problem caused by criminals.”

Today, under one of the new mandates from the Trump Administration and in support of gun owners’ rights, that webpage has been taken down.

”Trying to de-emphasize the clear impact of gun violence on the public health system, on our trauma centers, on our mental health centers, to de-emphasize the impact on our community, doesn’t even make sense,” said Pastor Brian Shobe of Stop the Violence Indianapolis. “It fights against reality. It’s a propaganda campaign to try and say that gun violence is not having the impact on America that it is having. You can’t cover it up. It’s in the news every single day.”

Stop the Violence Indianapolis has participated in IU Indy’s research on the impact of gun violence on young people.

”These are not just behavioral problems. These are mental health problems that we’re in the middle of a health crisis. Gun violence is an outward expression of behavior. People just don’t go out and shoot people for no reason,” said Shobe. ”All work today that is funded with public funds requires us to be able to show statistically that the work that we’re doing is having an impact. We want to have an impact on our community but if we can’t statistically show that through research, best practices cannot be proven.”

Paul Helmke of the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs is the former mayor of Fort Wayne and past CEO and President of the Brady Center/Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

”When we talk about gun violence as a public health issue, it takes away the politics and the R vs. D, right vs left out of it,” said Helmke. ”What we need is some real research here and for years the federal government wouldn’t even allow research into the gun violence issue.”

Researchers and anti-gun violence advocates fear the federal decision to downplay the discussion of gun violence as a public health issue will cause funding for studies to dry up and silence the conversation about firearms free of 2^nd Amendment distractions.

”I think one of the first things is to take this out of politics, turn this back to science, turn this back to research, and if we’re gonna turn away from that then we’re gonna have more problems,” said Helmke. ”There are things that can be done that can make us all safer that aren’t taking away anyone’s Second Amendment rights, but if we don’t do the research, if we don’t do the studies, that’s not gonna get down to the people in Bloomington, the people in Fort Wayne, the people in Indianapolis.”

”Gun violence is about people and we have a passion. I always say the Surgeon General was late to the party. Our local health department had already declared it a health crisis,” Pastor Shobe said. “Our community organizations were already pressing it as a health crisis and getting our city officials and our health department officials and then our national officials to come together and agree, put emphasis and funding behind the efforts that were already going on.”

Though IMPD reported non-fatal shootings were down nearly 10 % last year, 90% of the 2024 homicides it investigated were still caused by firearms.

The Marion County Public Health Department did not respond with a comment to the change in federal gun violence priorities.

Mayor Hogsett’s office issued a statement that read:

“The City of Indianapolis is committed to deterring gun violence for the benefit of communities throughout the city. In the three years since Mayor Hogsett’s Gun Violence Reduction Strategy was first implemented, both fatal and nonfatal shootings are down by nearly 30%. This comprehensive approach to reducing crime involves investments in law enforcement, behavioral health services and community-based efforts that address the root causes of violent crime. In the City’s mission to reduce gun violence, neighborhoods will be safer, and life outcomes and quality of life for all in Indianapolis will be improved.”