A Harvard Public Health Expert Weighs In On Gun Violence

How can we change the conversation around gun violence in the United States? Professor David Hemenway discusses what are we not doing, and how could we start looking at the problem as one of public health.

Last week, Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon announced that the company would stop selling certain types of guns and ammunition. Part of the reasoning behind the move was the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso last month. Since McMillon announced the change, many have wondered whether this is a watershed moment in corporate responsibility since Congress hasn’t done anything to legislatively address the gun violence and mass shooting epidemic in this country.

Detroit Today Host Stephen Henderson talks about the issue of gun violence through the lens of public health with David Hemenway, Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health

Hemenway says that the “federal government has been really afraid to pass or support gun research, the CDC does virtually nothing about research on gun violence in the US.” However, he adds that all of us have the power to do something about gun violence, and using these tragedies to generate conversation and legislative action is the best way to try to change the current landscape of violence in the United States. 

 

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