The appointment of Dr. Vivek Murthy as the next surgeon general has been welcomed by a leading gun control group, according to
The Hill.
The 51-43 Senate vote late Monday came despite opposition from lawmakers over
Murthy's support for gun control and past statements calling gun violence a public health concern.
Murthy, a 37-year-old physician and lecturer at Harvard Medical School, was confirmed by the Senate after more than a year of delays due to his opposition to gun rights.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said in a statement that Murthy’s confirmation was a "huge victory" for gun control advocates.
"Now we have a surgeon general who recognizes that gun violence is a serious public health issue that America urgently needs to address," the group’s president, Dan Gross,
"This victory represents a major triumph over the corporate gun lobby 'lap dogs' in the Senate who fought to defeat Dr. Murthy’s confirmation on behalf of their billion-dollar benefactors."
Sen. Rand Paul had opposed President Barack Obama's nominee for surgeon general, due to his connection to the president's influential political group
Organizing for America.
The Kentucky Republican sent a letter to outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid detailing his concerns over whether Dr. Murthy can remain impartial when he has called for stricter gun control laws and "promoted" the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was one of several Democrats who also slammed Obama’s nomination, saying he did not believe America's top doctor should participate in political activism.
And Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said that most of Murthy's career has been spent as an activist focused on gun control and other political issues, rather than on treating patients.
Murthy, a doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, co-founded Doctors for Obama in 2008. That group later was renamed Doctors for America, which advocated for the president's plans to reform the healthcare insurance system.
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the ranking member on the Senate health committee, condemned Murthy's appointment after the vote. He issued a statement late Monday with a copy of a letter to Congress, signed by Murthy in January 2013, which advocated for tougher gun laws.
However, the American Heart Association, which has lobbied for Murthy in Washington, D.C., in recent weeks, praised the confirmation.
"It’s very gratifying to know that the new surgeon general will share our vision and commitment to prevention," the group’s president, Dr. Elliott Antman, said.
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