Dr. Anthony Fauci on gun violence: “How can you say this is not a public health problem?”

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‘Myself, as a public health person, I don’t think you can run from that. When you see people being killed, it’s just horrifying what happened in the last month. How can you say this is not a public health problem? ‘ he told CNN’s Dana Bash about “State of the Union” when asked if gun violence was a public health emergency.

Fauci’s comments come after a string of mass shootings in the past month. According to CNN reports and an analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), local media and police reports, the US has suffered at least 45 mass shootings since March 16, when eight people were killed in three spas in the Atlanta area. CNN considers an incident to be a mass shooting when four or more people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed by gunfire.

“It’s not always these mass shootings – every day, every day there is a mass shootout in the United States, if you count all those who are killed on the streets of our cities and our rural areas,” Biden said at a joint press conference in Friday. the White House Rose Garden with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. “It’s a national disgrace and it must end.”

In March, the Democrat-led House passed two gun reform bills that would expand background checks, including one that would require checks on all sales and transfers, including between private parties, on firearms shows and over the Internet. Legislation has stalled in the Senate and Connecticut Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats, have reached out to Republicans to see if there could be any support for gun laws that could get 60 votes in the room it takes to pass.

Both senators have acknowledged that they may need to roll back House legislation as they face opposition from Republican senators and skepticism from moderate Democrats on the matter. Murphy told reporters on Wednesday that he was even willing to accept a more restrictive bill to get the 60 votes.

California Representative Karen Bass agreed with Biden that gun violence in the US is “a disgrace” in a separate interview with Bash on Sunday, saying she would support a more restrictive bill to pass the legislation with Republican backing.

“The bills passed by the House are bills backed by most of the country, including Republicans, including gun owners,” she said. “So there is no reason not to adopt the legislation.”

The gun control law debate comes as additional pressure is mounting on Biden and members of Congress to show that they are also committed to holding police officers accountable for misconduct, excessive force and negligence nearly a year after George Floyd’s murder by the police.

Bass on Sunday acknowledged the uphill climb for house-backed police reform legislation in the Senate.

“Passing legislation in the House is one thing. It is a huge hurdle to get it in the Senate,” she said. “We have to come up with a solution. We just can’t see this happening to the extent that it is happening now.”

This story was updated with additional details on Sunday.

CNN’s Madeline Holcombe, DJ Judd, Jessica Dena and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

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