Racial Equity Impact Assessment Tool for Gun Violence Prevention

The REIA is a tool that identifies and assesses factors bearing on racial equity that should be considered before a policy is implemented. These factors may be evaluated to promote racial equity, reduce victimization, and minimize arrests and incarceration. If a policy already exists, this REIA tool can help guide ongoing implementation and/or amendments to that policy to address equity concerns that are identified. Ideally, using this tool should be a collaborative process within and beyond the organization.

Throughout the assessment, each answer helps guide organizations as they decide whether to move forward, support, change, or advocate for a policy while also considering the risk of inaction.

Developed in partnership with many stakeholders across the gun violence prevention movement, this racial equity framework is a resource that can be used by policymakers, researchers, and organizations working in gun violence prevention. Representatives from the six authoring organizations comprised a small working group to plan development of the report and convened a series of conversations to share proposals and review feedback from expert contributors. In addition to advancing racial equity, the core values of inclusion, collaboration, and consensus-building guided this project.

We would like to thank the Joyce Foundation for supplying core support for this report.