GOOD AFTERNOON, CONSORTIUM MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE CONSORTIUM,

July marked another month of robust research related to gun violence prevention, with more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles published! You’ll find our July research recap below this month’s updates.

In Congress:

This month, the House of Representatives passed its Fiscal Year 2021 spending bills, which include $55M for gun violence prevention research! If this funding bill is signed into law, this would be $30M more than what was allocated last year. There is still an uphill battle to final passage in the Senate, but we will be sure to keep you all updated.

Other meaningful violence prevention funding provisions of the House-passed appropriations bills include: $400M for grants to carry out police reform initiatives; $9M for community-based violence prevention initiatives; $525M for Violence Against Women Act programs; $88M for states to improve records for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); $1.55B for the ATF, including increased funding to expand the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN); and $10M for a new effort focused on researching social determinants of health.

Additionally, the bills include important policy provisions related to: limiting the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement; directing the CDC to submit a comprehensive report detailing the scope and intersection of all forms of violence in the U.S., the cost of violence, and areas where more data and intervention are needed; and encouraging the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers to collaborate with state and local law enforcement on ERPO and other similar gun safety laws and to adopt programs and protocols on firearm safety and storage.

New Gun Violence Prevention Resources:

• The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence relaunched its website, www.EFSGV.org, to serve as a comprehensive resource for those seeking to understand gun violence. It compiles data, research, and recommendations for addressing America’s gun violence epidemic. Each “Learn” page includes a downloadable “Quick Facts” section summarizing the content, in-depth analysis of each topic, a recommendations section, and a section containing additional research, materials, and other resources related to each topic. The site features the work of the Consortium, its members, and our colleagues across the academic spectrum.
• The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform launched a new website, the Cost of Violence, breaking down the specific governmental costs associated with each gun homicide and injury shooting in cities across the U.S., including crime scene response, hospital and rehabilitation, criminal justice, incarceration, victim support, and lost tax revenue.
• The Violence Project updated its publicly-available mass shootings database to include over 50 new variables.

Racial Equity and Anti-Racism Resources:

• American Public Health Association’s Racism and Health resource page
• Center for Policing Equity’s data science for justice work and resources for researchers
• The Lancet: Seven things organisations should be doing to combat racism
• The Lancet Psychiatry Editorial Team: Home of the brave?
• Science Magazine: Amid protests against racism, scientists move to strip offensive names from journals, prizes, and more

Press Highlights:

• Amy Barnhorst quoted in Capitol Weekly: Dangerous mix: Law enforcement and mentally ill suspects
• Rocco Pallin quoted in Sacramento Bee: California slow to adopt gun violence measure intended to prevent mass shootings
• Daniel Webster quoted in NBC News: Gun violence is surging in cities, and hitting communities of color hardest
• Josh Horwitz and Daniel Webster quoted in Time: ‘We should have a handle on this by now.’ As inner-city neighborhoods see a surge in gun violence, these are the changes community leaders say they need

Congratulations!

• Congratulations to Consortium steering committee member Shannon Frattaroli, who was named the new director of Johns Hopkins’ Center for Injury Research and Policy!
• Congratulations to Consortium members and friends who were awarded grant funding through the National Research Collaborative Awards!

As a reminder, our newsletter archive is publicly available and we share the research recaps on twitter throughout the month – follow us on twitter @Consortium_RBFP! Please tag us in your tweets or email us your updates so we can amplify and highlight the gun violence prevention work you’re doing.