For the first time in the history of the country, a U.S. Surgeon General has declared a public health crisis over gun violence.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, in making issuing the public health notice, argued that gun violence has become pervasive in American society.

KNX News spoke with Dr. Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the UC Davis Medical School.  He says the problem is pretty simple ... there are just way too many guns available right now.

Surgeon General Murthy called for taking politics out of the gun control debate ... and instead treat it like a public health issue.  Dr. Wintemute couldn't agree more.

Surgeon General Murthy is calling for a ban on automatic rifles ... universal background checks for purchasing guns ... and passing laws that would restrict their use in public spaces and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons.