‘Firearm violence is preventable, not inevitable’

Whether the topic is highly publicized mass shootings like this summer’s tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo, or the more silent but ongoing epidemic of suicides involving guns, research and context from the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) continues to inform national debate and public policy responses around the prevention of firearm violence.

In one example, in July the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services announced $11 million in new community partnerships that are intended to expand outreach and education about the use of Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs) — commonly known as “red flag laws” — to families, schools and communities most at risk for gun violence. The governor’s press release pointed directly to two VPRP studies illustrating how most Californians don’t know about red flag laws in the first place.