Gun violence is public health emergency in US: Forbes

NEW YORK - Gun violence is a public health emergency in the United States, but repeated attempts to introduce gun control measures have run into formidable opposition in the US Congress as well as the judiciary, an opinion article released Sunday on Forbes said.

Gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the United States, and these deaths are preventable, Joshua Cohen, an independent healthcare analyst, said in the article.

"A comprehensive and multifaceted public health approach is needed to prevent gun violence, one which addresses both access to firearms and the underlying factors - societal, mental - that contribute to gun violence," Cohen said.

However, he noted that "in the current political climate, it's nearly impossible at the federal level to pass even comparatively benign interventions into law, such as universal background checks, age limits, firearm licensing, and a ban on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines."