Gun Violence Prevention

More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2022 than any other year on record, and gun violence was the leading cause of death for children. The Center for American Progress is committed to advancing evidence-based gun violence prevention policies and advocating for local, state, and federal investments in violence prevention programs and victim services. We are also committed to examining gun violence through a racial equity lens and rooting out systemic racism because while gun violence affects every community in the United States, young Black and brown people experience the highest rates of gun homicides.

We can help build safe and just communities by holding gun manufacturers and the gun industry accountable, closing gun law loopholes, and balancing immediate actions we can take to address recent increases in gun violence with long-term solutions focused on root causes. In addition to passing gun control laws to address how easy it is to buy a gun in America, the country must advance holistic community safety and justice policies that advocate for investments in solutions that prevent crime before it happens and defend criminal justice reforms wrongly blamed for increasing crime.

Featured Content

Debunking Myths the Gun Lobby Perpetuates Following Mass Shootings
Fact Sheet Photo shows wooden crosses displaying the victims' names in front of the Robb Elementary School sign.

Debunking Myths the Gun Lobby Perpetuates Following Mass Shootings

The facts disprove the dangerous myths that the gun lobby routinely deploys following mass shootings in its attempts to undermine calls for commonsense gun reform.

Allison Jordan

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COVID-19’s Impact on Gun Violence in America Report
A crowd of demonstrators is seen marching across the Brooklyn Bridge while the sun sets over the Manhattan skyline in the background.

COVID-19’s Impact on Gun Violence in America

Five years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there are several theories surrounding why gun violence spiked in the United States during the pandemic’s first year.

Chandler Hall

Mexico’s Lawsuit To Hold U.S. Gun Manufacturers Accountable Will Affect Public Safety in Both Countries Article
The U.S.-Mexico border wall is seen stretching through sand dunes while the sun sets in the background.

Mexico’s Lawsuit To Hold U.S. Gun Manufacturers Accountable Will Affect Public Safety in Both Countries

The Supreme Court’s decision in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos will either hold U.S. gun manufacturers accountable for fueling gun violence in Mexico or empower an unchecked firearm industry to break the law without consequence.

Nick Wilson

Gun Violence Trends in US Cities During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic In the News

Gun Violence Trends in US Cities During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In a research letter published in JAMA Network Open, Chandler Hall and Nick Wilson of the Center for American Progress, along with Alex R. Piquero, examine whether there was variation in gun violence trends in U.S. cities during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

JAMA Network Open

Chandler Hall, Nick Wilson, Alex R. Piquero

6 Ways Cities and Counties Can Reduce Gun Violence Report
A row of houses is seen from above in Northern Baltimore, Maryland.

6 Ways Cities and Counties Can Reduce Gun Violence

Cities and counties across the country are taking meaningful steps toward reducing gun violence by implementing a set of accountability and prevention strategies capable of healing communities while breaking cycles of violence.

Allison Jordan

10th National Gun Violence Prevention Summit (Online) Past Event

10th National Gun Violence Prevention Summit (Online)

Join CAP for a summit featuring speeches and discussions by leading advocates of the gun violence prevention movement.

10th National Gun Violence Prevention Summit Past Event

10th National Gun Violence Prevention Summit

Join CAP for a summit featuring speeches and discussions by leading advocates of the gun violence prevention movement.

CAP Joined by National Security and Gun Violence Prevention Advocates To Urge Congress To Protect Firearm Export Rule Article

CAP Joined by National Security and Gun Violence Prevention Advocates To Urge Congress To Protect Firearm Export Rule

The Center for American Progress, along with 34 organizations, authored a letter to Congress about protecting the Commerce Department’s firearm export rule, which will establish a new regulatory framework to protect U.S. national security interests.

Allison McManus, Nick Wilson, Laura Kilbury, 1 More Allison Jordan

In U.S. v. Rahimi, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Domestic Violence Survivor Safety but Upholds Problematic Bruen Framework Article
Photo shows a Supreme Court building partly lit inside, against a dark blue sky

In U.S. v. Rahimi, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Domestic Violence Survivor Safety but Upholds Problematic Bruen Framework

On June 21, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that a sensible and effective gun violence prevention law protecting domestic violence survivors remains constitutional; however, the fact that survivor safety was compromised because of the politicization of the judiciary—and could be again in the future—should not be forgotten.

Sabrina Talukder, Nick Wilson

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Is Spearheading a Judicial Power Grab Report
A demonstrator holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Is Spearheading a Judicial Power Grab

The rogue 5th Circuit Court has helped undermine the separation of powers, established precedent, and principled legal reasoning to accomplish right-wing policy goals; the Supreme Court continuing to follow suit would strip power away from elected representatives and American voters.

Jeevna Sheth, Devon Ombres

Film Screening: ‘Columbine 2024: 25 Years of Trauma’ Past Event

Film Screening: ‘Columbine 2024: 25 Years of Trauma’

A documentary film that follows two survivors of the Columbine Shooting Massacre, followed by a panel discussion with the film's director and survivors.

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