The Gun Owners of America spokesman explains why the just-deemed “health crisis” is a direct attack on private gun owners.
Last week, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy announced that gun violence has become a “public health crisis” in the United States, noting that more than 48,000 Americans died from gun injuries in 2022 alone.
“People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe,” Murthy explained following the report. “America should be a place where all of us can go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our house of worship, without having to worry that that’s going to put our life at risk.”
However, several gun groups are up in arms over the classification, believing that this classification is a personal attack on the rights of private gun owners – and another step by President Joe Biden to move towards his ban of certain types.
“This is not even the first time anti-gunners have tried to use ‘public health’ as an excuse to trample on our rights,” a recent Gun Owners of America representative explained.
They also brought up how the governor of New Mexico recently attempted a “public health emergency” to get guns banned in her state, only for the courts to knock down the classification following the filing of a lawsuit by the same group.
Joining us now to discuss this further is Stephen Willeford, the spokesman for the Gun Owners of America. You may recall Willeford being the “hero with a gun” with the Sutherland Springs situation in 2017, in which he’s co-authored a book. His expertise on gun rights make him an ideal interviewee for this subject.
Q&A:
- Why do you believe Murthy – and for that matter, Biden – would make such a statement about guns being part of a “public health crisis”? Could Biden just be doing this to look good to his voters?
- How does something like this violate the rights of gun owners? With a potential ban? Or perhaps something else?
- This particular type of ban didn’t work previously in New Mexico when the governor tried to decree such an emergency. So why would Biden try it again now?
- Would such a number of victims be heavily decreased if more states would allow Constitutional-Carry?
- Why do you believe Constitutional-Carry is such an effective solution when it comes to stopping “active shooters”?
- You recently wrote a book called A Town Called Sutherland Springs: Faith and Heroism Through Tragedy, revolving around your 2017 “hero with a gun” situation. Tell us more about how this came together, and why it’s such an important read right now.
- Where can people find your book?
- Where can we learn more about you, as well as Gun Owners of America?
- You can learn more at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com. You can also read more about the Gun Owners of America at https://www.gunowners.org/.
About Stephen Willeford…
Stephen represents Gun Owners of America and is known around the country as the “good guy with the gun” for helping stop the largest Texas mass shooting in the history of the state in 2017. He is available to speak about all gun rights issues, as well as the importance of Gun Owners of America. You can read more about him at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com.
CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin 919-437-0001 or jerry@specialguests.com.
