(Bloomberg) -- Medical professionals were once reluctant to become involved in the deeply politicized fight over gun regulation in America. But over the past year, participation has taken on a new urgency for those on the frontlines, as the US spirals ever deeper into crisis and carnage.

Gun violence has become the country’s leading cause of death for people under the age of 19. It kills more than 40,000 Americans and costs the equivalent of more than $500 billion annually. To medical professionals, gun violence is now a public health crisis similar to cigarette smoking and motor vehicle safety, and more of them are headed to Washington to lobby accordingly. One law they seek is one that was allowed to expire 19 years ago: a ban on assault rifles. But in a hyper-polarized America where gun manufacturers wield outsized power, can such an effort succeed where so many others have failed? 

In this Bloomberg Originals short documentary, we follow pediatrician Emily Lieberman as she leads a team of doctors seeking increased firearm regulation. Lieberman came face to face with America’s deadly gun culture and its regular drumbeat of mass killings. She lives in Highland Park, Illinois, and was attending a July Fourth parade with her family last year when seven people were killed and dozens injured by a man wielding an assault rifle. The defendant charged in the mass killing, Robert E. Crimo III, faces first degree murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

The attack was one of 647 mass shootings that took place across America in 2022 alone.

Read More: Doctors Are Taking on the Next Public Health Crisis—Mass ShootingsThe film also explores how Lieberman’s fellow doctors cope with the casualties that are increasingly inundating America’s hospitals. We get an inside look into a New York City pediatric emergency room with Chethan Sathya, a trauma surgeon and director of Northwell Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention. We also witness the human and financial costs faced by gunshot survivors, as a Chicago man explains how his life was forever changed in one burst of senseless violence. 

Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News-parent Bloomberg LP, is a backer of Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun safety measures.

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