× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Dr. Stephen Hargarten told a La Crosse audience of about 100 people Wednesday that gun violence should be treated as an illness.

“The bullet is the agent of disease. It’s not the gun,” said Hargarten, a physician, injury-control researcher and professor at Medical College of Wisconsin with about 40 years of medical experience.

He was the keynote speaker at English Lutheran Church’s Community Conversation sponsored by the La Crosse Interfaith Leaders’ Coalition.

Hargarten challenged conventional ideas and aimed to dispel myths that are scientifically misleading, such as, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people,” he said.

In 2018, 38,000 deaths were because of firearm-related injuries, about 78,000 people suffered from non-fatal gun injuries and the major cause of spinal cord injuries is because of guns, Hargarten said during his presentation.

Gun violence is a public health issue and the energy released reverberates, Hargarten said.

The energy released by the bullet penetrating the body causes immediate tissue damage, causing organs to bleed, Hargarten said.