The United States is facing many kinds of epidemics and public health crises that require our immediate attention. Public health can be defined in broad terms as any set of circumstances that threaten the well-being of the general public and can be avoided with sensible government involvement.
When six Americans succumbed to coronavirus this past Monday, their deaths dominated the news. That was perfectly understandable, considering that the quickly spreading disease had killed some 3,000 people in other parts of the world but until then had claimed no lives in the United States.
But when at least 36 Americans died that same day amid the nation’s epidemic of gun violence, which has ended more than 6,700 lives in the U.S. this year alone, there was no national news about it. Instead, it was treated as just another Monday of gun-related deaths in America — which, strictly in statistical terms, it was.
The contrast between the reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak and Monday’s death toll from gun homicides, accidental shootings and suicides was night and day, and it unfortunately speaks to the level to which gun violence has become part of the daily American experience.
While government officials scrambled to contain the virus and Americans took all manner of precautions to guard against transmission of the disease, the threat of gun violence continued unabated for yet another day.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. This can be the year when Americans put their foot down by electing leaders who understand the need for greater gun safety in our country and support reasonable, responsible actions to get a handle on the problem.
Amid a growing amount of public support for any number of gun control initiatives — universal background checks, a national gun registry, a federal ban on assault-type weapons and more — the 2020 ballots will feature no shortage of candidates willing to address gun violence.
Coming off of Super Tuesday, it appears that list will be topped by either former Vice President Joe Biden or Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., both of whom have pledged to enact a package of gun reforms. Interestingly, despite Sanders’ far-left positioning overall, Biden is the more strident of the two on gun safety. His plan calls not only for an assault weapons ban, background checks and a limit on magazine capacity but also would limit individuals’ gun purchases to one per month, require registration of assault weapons and provide incentives to states to establish gun licensing programs. That said, neither Biden nor Sanders embraced some of the more extreme ideas that emerged during the campaign, such as mandatory buy-backs of assault weapons and the establishment of a national gun registry.
In Nevada, where the filing period for candidates for state and local offices ends Friday, it’s become increasingly clear over the past two elections that voters demand responsible leadership on gun issues. In 2016, they showed it by approving a ballot measure for universal background checks and electing Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., a strong gun safety candidate. In 2018, Nevada voters sent another reform-minded candidate to the Senate, Jacky Rosen, and flooded Carson City with candidates who supported gun safety.
Here’s hoping the rest of the nation follows our lead this year, because it’s past time the nation dealt with its problem with guns. Here are just a few of the bracing facts about firearm deaths in the U.S.
• The daily average of gun-related homicides and fatal accidents in the U.S. hovers around 40. When suicides are included, the number spirals to more than 100 per day.
• Behind motor vehicle accidents, gun homicides and accidents are the No. 2 cause of death for Americans 19 and younger.
• About 100,000 Americans are wounded with guns each year, with about 75,000 of those nonfatal shootings being gun assaults. Another 20,000 are accidental.
• Americans are 25 times more likely to die from gun violence than the residents of other developed nations, including France, Germany, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Japan.
These numbers are alarming — certainly no less so than the human toll of COVID-19. In both cases, urgent action is needed.