When Elliott Rodger’s killing rampage was all over, police found 3 handguns and 400 rounds of unused ammunition in his BMW.
Despite the deaths of six people, the NRA isn’t letting up on blocking the nomination of Vivek Murthy as the next surgeon general, reports Vox.
Murthy who would become the first Indian American to serve as surgeon general. The NRA is opposing him on the sole grounds that he once wrote a letter advocating “that strong measures to reduce gun violence must be taken immediately.”
Murthy’s position is in line with those taken by respected health organizations such as American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Due to the intense lobbying by the NRA, as many as ten Democrats are lined up to oppose Murthy’s nomination.
“This incident — like many others — underscores that gun violence is indeed a major public health concern,” said Harold Pollack, co-director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab. “It’s a sign of the times that a respected medical professional faces political difficulties for noting this obvious fact of American life.”
You can read about a recent editorial from the New England Journal of Medicine on this issue in Vox.
