Biden should OK gun violence report

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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For decades, a report from the nation's top doctor — the U.S. surgeon general — has been an influential call to action.

There's a venerable tradition among those who have held this post to wield its powerful bully pulpit. In 1964, Dr. Luther Terry, nominated by President John F. Kennedy, courageously released a sweeping report warning a nation of smokers of tobacco's link to cancer, heart disease and other serious conditions.

In the 1980s, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who served under President Ronald Reagan, sounded an alarm again on tobacco and secondhand smoking's risks. Also on his watch: a controversial but factual report on AIDS calming fears that the disease could be transmitted via casual contact. The report also pragmatically highlighted the critical role of testing, education and condom use.

Reports with the surgeon general's imprimatur are relatively rare but have an impact. When released, the reviews acknowledge the severity of the problem, raise awareness and help shape policy well into the future. According to four former surgeon generals, the time has come for another landmark analysis.

The health crisis at hand is the American epidemic of gun violence, which claims roughly 40,000 lives each year and leaves another 200,000 people with nonfatal but still serious injuries, according to a letter from these influential physicians.

The four former surgeon generals served under Republican and Democrat presidents: George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Their forceful letter to President Joe Biden requesting the report was sent on a heartbreaking 2022 anniversary: a decade after a gunman mowed down 20 children and six adults at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary.

In the run-up to the holidays, with Congress scrambling to get a massive must-pass spending bill across the finish line, the physicians' message, unfortunately, fell under the radar. It shouldn't have.

The four doctors — Richard Carmona, Antonia Novello, David Satcher and Joycelyn Elders — are commendably sounding the alarm about firearms' tragic toll. The report they seek would draw on a wide array of experts convened by the surgeon general. When complete, the analysis could provide clarity, identify risk factors and research gaps, and yield data-driven solutions.

One particularly valuable contribution a report could make would be informing the debate over preventive measures by breaking down deaths and injuries caused by firearms. So often discourse is driven — understandably — by the most recent mass shooting.

But as the letter notes, these are "shocking, tragic occurrences but annually they account for 1-2% of victims of firearm violence, the majority of whom take their own lives with a gun."

That does not mean suggested remedies for horrific events like mass shootings would be a low priority in a report. Instead, it's an acknowledgment of the complexity of this crisis and the need to deal with it like a disease through proper diagnosis and treatment.

For example, when someone develops cancer, medical providers determine the type of disease the patient has and tailor care accordingly. Doctors wouldn't treat bone cancer the same as a brain tumor.

The same principle applies to gun violence. It's essential to drill down into its varied origins and develop specific solutions to prevent mass shootings, suicide, crime and accidental shootings. The remedies for each are likely to be different, but together, even incremental steps could substantially reduce death and injuries.

Focused preventive measures could also potentially forge some rare common ground. For example, child deaths too often occur when a firearm is stored insecurely. What state and federal policies could ensure that guns are inaccessible to young or troubled children? Perhaps this approach could expand the conversation to emphasize gun ownership responsibilities in addition to gun enthusiasts' rights.

State legislatures need to keep seeking solutions while Biden, the current surgeon general's boss, considers the request from the four physicians. A bill requiring such a report regrettably remains bogged down in Congress.

In Minnesota, the DFL-controlled House and Senate laudably have two major gun violence prevention measures up for consideration. HF 14 would require criminal background checks for firearm transfers (with some exceptions). HF 15 would enable "law enforcement and family members to petition a court to prohibit people from possessing firearms if they pose a significant danger to themselves or others by possessing a firearm."

Sadly, 2023 will almost certainly be marred by more tragic mass shootings. It doesn't have to be this way. A surgeon general's report is a sensible, practical step forward.