Trump Admin Erases Biden’s Gun Violence Advisory

President Trump’s administration has removed a Biden-era gun violence public health advisory from government websites, aligning with his broader executive order to protect Second Amendment rights.

Key Takeaways

The Trump administration has removed former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s gun violence public health advisory from Health and Human Services websites.
The removal occurred between March 5-15, 2025, as part of President Trump’s executive order to safeguard Second Amendment rights.
The deleted advisory had labeled gun violence as a “public health crisis” and recommended measures like universal background checks and automatic rifle bans.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated that “illegal violence of any sort is a crime issue” that should be addressed through law enforcement.
Gun rights advocates applaud the move while public health researchers express concern about losing progress in prevention approaches.

Trump Administration Eliminates Public Health Framing of Gun Violence

The Trump administration has removed a Biden-era advisory that framed gun violence as a public health crisis from the Department of Health and Human Services website. The advisory, which was implemented by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, disappeared from government servers between March 5 and March 15, 2025. This removal follows President Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to review policies that might infringe upon Second Amendment rights, particularly targeting gun safety legislation implemented during the previous administration.

The advisory contained extensive data on firearms, including statistics showing them as the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in America. It also advocated for controversial measures such as banning automatic rifles, implementing universal background checks, and establishing penalties for unsafe firearm storage. These recommendations were in line with the Biden administration’s broader approach to gun policy, which included establishing the Office of Gun Violence Prevention that has now been shuttered.

Conflicting Perspectives on Gun Violence Prevention

The removal of the advisory has highlighted the stark contrasts in how different administrations approach gun-related issues. While the Biden administration framed gun violence through a public health lens, the Trump White House has firmly placed it in the domain of law enforcement. White House spokesperson Kush Desai emphasized the administration’s position in an official statement following questions about the website changes.

“Illegal violence of any sort is a crime issue, and as he again made clear during his recent speech at the Department of Justice, President Trump is committed to Making America Safe Again by empowering law enforcement to uphold law and order,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.

The National Rifle Association welcomed the advisory’s removal, having previously criticized Murthy’s approach. “This is an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners. America has a crime problem caused by criminals,” the organization had stated when the advisory was initially published. This perspective aligns with the Trump administration’s emphasis on criminal justice solutions rather than restrictions on legal gun ownership.

Public Health Experts Concerned About Loss of Prevention Framework

Public health researchers have expressed disappointment with the advisory’s removal, arguing that viewing gun violence through a health lens creates opportunities for non-partisan solutions. According to Daniel Semenza, a firearm violence researcher quoted in The Guardian, the public health approach helps depoliticize the issue and focuses attention on evidence-based prevention strategies that could potentially unite Americans across the political spectrum.

“When people read gun violence is a public health problem, they read guns are a public health problem. This idea actually removes the politics from the issue and is an engine to get us on the same page. [The removal] feels like an unnecessary and mean-spirited way to politicize something that people have actively been trying to bring people together on,” said Daniel Semenza.

The former Surgeon General’s call for safe public spaces now exists only in internet archives. Murthy had stated, “People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe. 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.” The data that supported these claims, including the nearly 47,000 firearm-related deaths in 2023, is no longer available on government websites.

Second Amendment Protections at the Center of Policy

President Trump’s executive order that led to the advisory’s removal emphasizes the Second Amendment as fundamental to American security and liberty. The directive requires federal agencies to identify any regulations that might restrict constitutional gun rights. This approach represents a significant departure from the previous administration’s policies, which included advocating for an assault weapons ban and seeking to repeal liability protections for gun manufacturers.

While polling data cited in the now-removed advisory indicated significant public support for measures like universal background checks, with 87% of Americans in favor according to a Fox News survey, the Trump administration has focused instead on empowering law enforcement to address violent crime. Critics of the public health approach argue there is minimal correlation between legal gun ownership and gun violence, supporting the administration’s focus on criminal behavior rather than access to firearms.