Dec 16, 2014 2 min read

It’s about time.

Before they flee from Washington, D.C., the Senate finally got around to confirming Vivek Murthy Monday as the country’s surgeon general. The post was open since July 2013, and even though Murthy is more than eminently qualified – the 37-year-old has degrees from Harvard and Yale, teaches at Harvard Medical School and has practiced at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston – his nomination had been cast in limbo.

The reason? Murthy had the temerity to suggest gun violence is a public health issue in the United States, and steps should be taken to solve it, such as restricting the sale of military-style weapons, limiting the amount of ammunition that can be purchased, strengthening background checks and imposing 48-hour waiting periods.

None of these positions are out of the mainstream. According to many polls, most Americans agree with them. The surgeon general traditionally has no role in crafting gun policy, and Murthy said childhood obesity would be the issue that would be getting the lion’s share of his attention. But the National Rifle Association raised a fuss about Murthy, and many senators cowered accordingly.

It took the lame-duck status of several red-state Democrats defeated in November, such as Alaska’s Mark Begich and Arkansas’ Mark Pryor, for the logjam to finally be broken. Murthy was approved on a 51-43 vote, with Mark Kirk of Illinois the only Republican offering support.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut offered an honest assessment: “The simple fact is gun violence impacts far too many people. Pointing out these facts and asking whether there are strategies we could apply to bring that number down is exactly what a person tasked to keep Americans healthy ought to be doing.”

Perhaps once Murthy takes office, he can explore another public health issue: Elected officials who conspicuously lack a spine.