What Doesn’t Jump to Mind When You Hear “Public Health”: The U.S. Gun Violence Epidemic

​Gun violence is a prevalent issue in our country and has been that way for quite some time. An issue resulting in the death of 100 people each day. An issue that should not be considered a political one, but rather a public health crisis. Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar a nationally-known violence prevention epidemiologist from the University of Washington is one of many professionals who said ‘“there is absolutely no question gun violence is a public health concern’” with the supporting statistic that there are 80,000 injuries from firearms each year in the United States, where 38,000 of those incidents result in fatalities. As a leading cause of death in the United States, we must and can prevent this epidemic.

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Author

Sarah Kelly
​Outbreak! 2020

This year I became a leader of the Massachusetts Virtual Field Office (VFO), in the organization Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. In public health there is never one simple answer to resolving the issue at hand, but that does not mean that there is nothing to be done. In fact, there is much to be done, reforms to be made, and measures to be taken in order to bring us to a safer tomorrow. The best ways to bring about this kind of change is by encouraging young people to vote for gun sense candidates that have promised to pass laws and stricter policies to keep our communities safe. No student, faculty, or staff member should fear losing their life in a gun related incident walking into a school building. Schools were made to be safe places where students can obtain a meaningful education. Purposefully adding guns into these settings by arming teachers and/or law enforcement will not solve the gun violence crisis by any means. Instead, arming an untrained teacher adds a much higher risk to the safety of teachers and “students on a daily basis”. This epidemic is something that I have become very involved in because it’s more than something that I want to be a part of taking action in, but rather something that I know needs to have action taken in so that actual change will be brought about our country.
   
Works Cited
“Keeping Our Schools Safe: A Plan for Preventing Mass Shootings and Ending All Gun Violence in American Schools.” Everytown Research & Policy, 31 July 2020, everytownresearch.org/report/a-plan-for-preventing-mass-shootings-and-ending-all-gun-violence-in-american-schools/.
Poitras, Colin. “Public Health Critical to Addressing Gun Violence Epidemic.” Yale School of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, 30 Nov. 2018, medicine.yale.edu/news-article/18869/.