DeSantis Puts His Foot Down on Surgeon General Gun Violence Advisory

(RepublicanNews.org) – Republican governor of Florida Ron DeSantis said the Sunshine State would not comply with a new health advisory issued by the Surgeon General about gun violence, which he said is “unconstitutional.”

On Wednesday, June 26th, DeSantis posted on social media that Florida would not comply with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who declared gun violence to be “a public health crisis” the day before.

In his post, DeSantis wrote, “We will not comply,” adding that his state would “always reject” what he described as “unconstitutional power grabs” by the Biden administration.

Murthy cited statistics showing a rise in gun-related deaths and said that while the spike demonstrates a crisis in public health, the government’s “failure to address it” represents “a moral crisis.” In the health advisory, the Surgeon General called on the federal government to ban civilians from owning “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines; to implement background check policies nationwide; and to mandate secure storage of firearms in private homes. Murthy also told lawmakers to establish “safer conditions in public places” by regulating where guns can be carried.

DeSantis rejected the advisory and said Florida would treat it the same way the state handled the pandemic advisory measures in 2020, 2021, and 2022. He said, that during this period, “bureaucrats” used the pretext of “public health” in much the same way to deprive Americans “of their rights.” DeSantis noted how he passed laws to stop such government overreach in Florida.

The Florida governor said Murthy is now trying “to violate the Second Amendment” using the same “‘public health’ bureaucracy.” Like the pandemic guidelines, DeSantis has used legislation to protect against overreach and signed a bill in April 2023 that allows citizens in the Sunshine State to concealed-carry without a government permit. The White House criticized the law, calling it “the opposite of commonsense gun safety.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) also criticized Murthy’s health advisory, referring to it as “an extension” of the “war on law-abiding gun owners” by the Biden administration.