Tackling US gun violence as a public health crisis. Will it help?

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared gun violence a public health crisis, a move aimed at curbing the US' role in leading the world in shooting deaths.

In a first-of-its-kind report urging action, the country's top doctor noted that a majority of Americans or their family members have experienced gun violence.

A public health approach could help, Dr Murthy argues, as it did with changes to seatbelt safety in vehicles and warnings about health impacts of smoking cigarettes. He hopes to remove politics from an issue that has bitterly divided lawmakers and instead have Americans look at the impacts and the data.

"I want people to understand the full impact gun violence is having on the United States," Dr Murthy told the BBC in an interview on Tuesday.