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Our Top Doctor Thinks Gun Ownership Is A Disease

Vivek Murthy declared “gun violence” to be a “public-health crisis” earlier this year. His prescription for such is all too predictable.

One of the more pernicious beliefs within contemporary American politics is there are certain words or phrases that, if uttered by the right person at the right time, can bypass the usual constitutional processes and deliver absolute victory to the speaker. In June, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy offered up a stellar example of this conviction when he issued a 40-page report that he framed with the claim that “gun violence is a public-health crisis in our country and requires a public-health solution.”

Superficially,Murthy’s“OneWeirdTrick”characterizationmightsoundinteresting—orevenpersuasive.Butwhenonedigsinalittlefurther,onecanseethatitisnotonlyinapt,butisdownright sinister. “Gun violence”—which,inpractice,involvescriminalsabusingfirearms—simplycannotnotbea“public-healthissue”inthewaythat,say,thespreadofHIVwasinthe1980s.Rather,itisacomplex criminal matterthatrequiresarobustresponsefromourlegislatures,poli