The Latest

In this update from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions: 

• New Center report recommends policies and practices to prevent political violence 
• Remembering Michael Beard, founder of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence  
• Mallory O’Brien briefs US Commission on Civil Rights on potential impact of Violence Reduction Councils 
• Safer States Initiative advocacy group supports efforts to pass extreme risk law in Kentucky 
• Reflection on the gun violence prevention movement 11 years since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary 

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The growing presence of firearms in political spaces and the rise of insurrectionist ideologies advanced by extremist groups in the United States endangers public health, safety, and the functioning of democracy. The newly released Defending Democracy report, authored by the Center’s Tim Carey, Law and Policy Advisor, and Kelly Roskam, Director of Law and Policy, with co-director Joshua Horwitz, counters the myth that the U.S. Constitution protects armed political violence or intimidation. The report details how courts have explicitly rejected the idea that the Second Amendment gives individuals a right to take up arms against the government.  

Defending Democracy outlines how less restrictive gun laws, such as permitless concealed carry, have emboldened insurrectionists and increased the likelihood of violence. The authors argue that armed insurrection can be prevented and lay out policy and practice recommendations to implement at the local, state, and national level as the 2024 election approaches. What matters most is that policymakers and advocates learn from the past, critically examine the present, and act now to save the future. 

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Michael Beard, a leader and pioneer in gun violence prevention, has passed away after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. In 1978, Mike founded the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence which helped to form our current Center. Mike was the director for more than 30 years until Josh Horwitz took over the position.   

Reflecting on Mike, Josh related that "he was smart, funny and ahead of his time.  Mike brought me into this movement, and I owe him a great debt of gratitude not only for giving me my first chance but for teaching me that if you believe in something, stand up for it, and don't let the snickering of others who think they know better, change your course. " For decades, Mike was a tireless force in advocating for meaningful gun violence prevention legislation. His work continues to inspire the research and advocacy our center prides itself on every day. 

The Center for Gun Violence Solutions mobilized its team to advance lifesaving research and gun violence solutions to achieve significant victories this year! 

 We collaborated with a wide array of stakeholders to advance all phases of the policy-change process. Our efforts are bringing us closer to preventing gun violence in all its forms—from suicide to community and domestic violence to mass shootings and shootings by police. 

 Learn about the Center’s 2023 accomplishments and how we will build on the momentum gained in 2023 to help save more lives in 2024! 

Including Non-Fatal Shooting Data Shapes

New Approach to Violence Reduction 

A new project led by Center core faculty Mallory O’Brien and co-director Cass Crifasi will help empower communities to develop and implement Violence Reduction Councils. This data-driven and public health focused approach works to create an environment for trust and collaboration with law enforcement, front line practitioners, and those with lived experiences to proactively intervene before a shooting occurs. Dr. O’Brien recently took part in a public briefing on racial disparities in violent crime victimization at the Unites States Commission on Civil Rights, presenting this new approach and stressing the importance of data collection on non-fatal shootings as well as homicides to give a deeper understanding of the issue. 

“I’m not only coming to you with data, but I’m also coming with solutions. My colleagues and I at Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions have been working on a new model for reducing violence in our communities...in Milwaukee we were able to achieve a nearly 50% decline in homicides using this approach.”   -Mallory O’Brien, speaking at the United States Commission on Civil Rights briefing on Racial Disparities in Violent Crime Victimization. 

Learn more about this innovative approach: 

This week Kentucky will hold the first hearing on gun safety legislation since 2019. Firearm homicides in the state increased nearly 80% from 2019-2021. The Crisis Aversion & Rights Retention (CARR) Act is similar to Extreme Risk Protection Orders in other states. This bipartisan legislation, which will be introduced by Republican Senator Whitney Westerfield, includes robust due process protections and would allow law enforcement to temporarily remove the firearms of someone a judge deems to be a threat to themselves or others.   

A statewide advocacy campaign aimed at finding common ground with gun owners has been led by the organization, Whitney Strong, part of the Center’s Safer States Initiative. As part of this initiative, the Center’s Jen Pauliukonis, Director of Policy and Programming, meets regularly with partners in Kentucky to provide public health expertise and data supporting policymakers and advocacy groups. 

On December 14th, 2012, the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary shocked the nation and influenced many of us including the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy. Leading researchers, practitioners and advocates in gun violence prevention examined the potential relationship between mental illness and gun violence and developed the first Extreme Risk Protection Order policy to work proactively to prevent another such tragedy from occurring.  

Eleven years later the Consortium, staffed and organized by the Center, continues to advise policymakers and inform implementation of extreme risk laws across the country, including Michigan and Minnesota where newly passed ERPO laws will go into effect in 2024. 

CNN: Suicide deaths reached a record high in the US in 2022, despite hopeful decreases among children and young adults 

Ari Davis, Center Policy Advisor, discusses the provisional CDC data on increasing rates of gun suicides. 

WBAL TV: Hopkins gun violence experts believes gun law ruling will be ‘appealed successfully’ 

Cass Crifasi discusses the Fourth Circuit Courts decision to overturn Maryland’s handgun licensing law and the recently filed appeal. 

Las Vegas Review Journal: ‘It’s going to be traumatizing’: Experts share insights into aftermath of UNLV shooting. 

Lori Haas, Advocacy Manager, shares her experience as mother of a survivor of the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech. 

The Washington Post: With ‘conversion switch’ devices, machine guns return to U.S. streets 

Daniel Webster, professor, argues that legislators should enact higher penalties for possession of ‘switch’ devices that effectively convert pistols and rifles into automatic weapons 

Public Health on Call: Red Flag Laws, Maine’s “Yellow Flag” Law, and Preventing Gun Violence Through Policy 

Josh Horwitz discusses why Maine’s hybrid approach to Extreme Risk Protection Orders is ineffective and what can be done to strengthen it 

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
624 North Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21205
United States

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