Members of the Center attended the 2025 Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR) Annual Conference at The New York Academy of Medicine, to discuss breakthrough ideas and future collaborative ventures in the injury and violence prevention research field. Multiple Center team members presented their latest gun violence prevention research: -
Cass Crifasi, Center co-director, presented on the possibility of virtual reality software being used as a tool to understand the decision-making process of gun owners. Cass also accepted her new role as the incoming SAVIR president.
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Mudia Uzzi, core faculty at the Center, presented on the intersection of firearm violence, overdose, and structural racism.
- Lisa Gellar, director of implementation at the Center and National ERPO Resource Center co-lead, led a discussion on the experiences of ERPO respondents in California.
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Will Wical, Center postdoctoral fellow, presented on the importance of trauma-informed care in hospital-based violence intervention programs.
- Hossein Zare, core faculty at the Center, presented on the impact of police accountability policies on US fatal shootings, and on police accountability reforms after George Floyd’s murder.
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Mallory O’Brien, core faculty at the Center, led a technical workshop on how to implement Violence Reduction Councils.
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In February, a gunman shot and killed two people grocery shopping at a Harris Teeter in Virginia. The family of the gunman identified early warning signs in the shooter but were denied police assistance. If the family had been allowed to petition for an Emergency Substantial Risk Order (ESRO) directly, then they could have prevented the shooting.
Emergency Substantial Risk Orders, also known as red flag laws, are civil court orders that temporarily restrict firearm access for those who present a high risk of harm to themself or others. Through 2024, Virginia police have issued 1,391 ESROs, but in Virginia family members are not allowed to directly file an order themselves. Expanding Virginia’s red flag law to allow family members to petition for ESRO court orders, as they can in many other states, could save even more lives.
In their recent op-ed, Center advocacy manager Lori Haas and Virginia state delegate Rip Sullivan write: “If Virginia allowed family members to petition a court directly for a risk order to remove firearms from a dangerous individual, more lives could have been saved. This is no solace to their loved ones, but moving forward, we must do everything in our power to make certain that risk orders are used in every appropriate circumstance.”
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In our new video, Center co-director Josh Horwitz discusses the importance of our goal to reduce gun violence 30% by 2030. Josh explains how we can make it happen using our 5 policy priorities: - Firearm Purchaser Licensing
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Firearm Removal Laws
- Safe and Secure Gun Storage
- Regulating the Public Carry of Firearms
- Community Violence Intervention
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