Dear John,

Six months ago, two innovative organizations with a combined four decades of experience working to combat gun violence — the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence and the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy — officially merged to create the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Together, the new Center combines rigorous scientific research with public-policy advocacy expertise to strategically move the needle on gun violence prevention.

At this milestone, we wanted to highlight some of our early work and share how the Center will continue to tirelessly pursue innovative solutions to gun violence and evidence-based and equitable policy change.

Since the merger, the Center’s work and expertise have been cited more than 350 times by news outlets like the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and NBC News, and by lawmakers pushing for legislative solutions to the gun violence epidemic.
This spring, the Center provided timely analysis of the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on gun deaths, highlighting the dramatic increase that occured in 2020. The analysis included data about disparate racial impacts – gun-related homicides disproportionately impacted Black people more than their white counterparts, especially Black males.
We continue releasing scientifically rigorous studies, such as our recent study exploring the deleterious effects of relaxing concealed carry restrictions on the rate of firearm assaults.
Our peer-reviewed public opinion research shows that Americans are not as divided over gun policies as our politics would have us believe.
Center faculty participated in several online events for policy makers. One Johns Hopkins Congressional Briefing focused on privately made firearms, strengthening background check laws with handgun purchaser licensing, and community violence intervention programs. Another Congressional Briefing was held in the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas and touched upon challenges gun violence poses for American democracy, the promise of Extreme Risk Protection Orders, public support for key gun policies, and student safety.

This summer ushered in huge changes in the national landscape. Congress passed the first meaningful bipartisan gun legislation in 30 years. At the same time, the Supreme Court’s decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen unraveled basic public safety measures and will lead to more guns in more public spaces. Center faculty participated in a media briefing and hosted a webinar to discuss the legal, policy, and public health implications of the decision. Also this summer, lawmakers in several state houses passed sweeping legislation to further protect their constituents from deadly firearms.

Of course, there remains much work to be done, which we highlight here. The combined experience and expertise of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions will be a key resource for the gun violence prevention movement around the country, and your support is critical.

Thank you,

Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH, Bloomberg Professor of American Health in Violence Prevention, Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions

Josh Horwitz, JD, Inaugural Dana Feitler Professor of the Practice in Gun Violence Prevention and Advocacy, Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions