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The data is clear, the solutions are evidence-based, and public support is broader than most people realize. What is missing is not knowledge — it is the will to treat gun violence as we treat every other preventable cause of death.
Gun violence in America is not a single event. It is a daily reality — one that touches nearly every community in the country, whether through homicide, suicide, domestic violence, or the chronic trauma that builds in neighborhoods where gunshots are ordinary.It is also, according to decades of public health research, preventable. Not entirely or immediately — but meaningfully, measurably, with interventions already working in communities across the United States.At the Cummings Foundation for Behavioral Health, our approach to gun violence is grounded in public health — not politics. The data does not belong to one side of any debate. It belongs to the people whose lives depend on what we do with it.The scale of the problemIn 2024, the CDC reported 44,447 gun-related deaths in the United States. That number includes homicides, suicides, unintentional shootings, and violence involving law enforcement. It represents mothers, children, neighbors, first responders, and strangers. It is a number most high-income countries do not come close to.
44,447Gun-related deaths in the U.S. in 2024 — CDC
7%Year-over-year decline in the gun death rate — the largest single-year drop since 1995
99.85%Lifetime likelihood of knowing a gun violence victim within your personal network
2.5×Higher gun death rate in states with the weakest gun safety laws vs. the strongest — Johns Hopkins
The 7% year-over-year decline in the gun death rate is meaningful — the largest single-year drop on record since 1995. It did not happen by accident. It reflects the cumulative effect of community investment, policy reform, and intervention programs that are finally receiving the resources and attention they have long needed. Progress is possible. The question is whether we are willing to build on it.Reframing the conversationOne of the most important shifts in how researchers and policymakers think about gun violence is the move toward a public health framework. This means treating gun violence as we do other leading causes of preventable death — with research, data, intervention strategies, and a focus on the conditions that increase risk.Public health does not ask whether a problem is political. It asks what causes it, who is most affected, what interventions reduce harm, and how we scale what works. Applied to gun violence, that framework yields evidence-based, community-centered answers — perhaps surprisingly to some — that are broadly supported across party lines.
72% of Americans — including 67% of gun owners — support community-based violence-prevention programs, according to national polling data.That level of bipartisan support is rarely reflected in how the political conversation about gun violence is covered or conducted. The public is further ahead on this than the debate suggests.
This matters because one of the most persistent barriers to funding and scaling prevention programs is the perception that gun violence is too politically contentious to act on. Public opinion data tells a different story.What the evidence shows worksCommunity-based violence intervention is not a new idea — but it has taken time to build the rigorous evidence base it now has.
Research finding — Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthEvery $1 invested in community-based violence prevention returns between $7 and $19 in societal benefits — through reduced healthcare costs, reduced incarceration, increased economic productivity, and improved community health outcomes.That return on investment is not a projection. It is based on documented outcomes from programs that have been studied, measured, and replicated across multiple communities.
Research spotlight — January 2026Hospital-Based Violence Intervention ProgramsA January 2026 study from Boston University found that hospital-based violence intervention programs — which connect individuals injured by violence with counselors, case managers, and community resources during their hospital stay — reduce reinjury and further violence involvement by 50% over two to three years. The hospital becomes not just a place to treat wounds but a point of intervention in the cycle of violence itself. These programs represent one of the most promising and underutilized tools in the prevention landscape.
The evidence consistently leads to the same conclusion: when communities receive sustained, adequately funded, and evidence-based support, gun violence decreases. Effective programs are simple in concept but challenging to implement, often underfunded, and not widely adopted. This issue stems from a lack of resources and political will, not a lack of knowledge.The Role of Law and PolicyCommunity-based interventions do not function in isolation. The surrounding policy environment determines what is achievable at the community level, and research shows a clear link between these factors.States with the strongest gun safety laws experience a gun death rate that is 2.5 times lower than that of states with the weakest laws, according to research from Johns Hopkins. This disparity cannot be entirely attributed to geography, demographics, or cultural differences; instead, it reflects the measurable impact of policy on outcomes, similar to the findings in public health regarding seatbelt laws, tobacco regulation, or food safety standards.This is not an endorsement of any specific policy position. Rather, it is a call to treat data as data and to allow evidence to guide discussions instead of relying solely on ideology.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Gun violence mortality data, 2024.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Community-based violence intervention: Return on investment findings.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. State gun safety law strength and gun death rate comparative analysis.
Boston University School of Public Health. (January 2026). Hospital-based violence intervention programs: Reinjury and violence reduction outcomes, 2–3 year follow-up.
National polling data on public support for community-based violence prevention, 2025–2026.
