The nation has been trying to deal with high levels of gun violence for decades. Have many efforts to combat it been successful?
The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation held a briefing on Capitol Hill this week to review what research has shown.
Depending on the time frame, the data can be encouraging or discouraging. The nonprofit Gun Violent Archive has published the raw numbers for the last decade. The number of deaths and injuries from gun violence were both markedly higher last year than in 2015. There were more than 16,700 deaths in 2024 compared with nearly 14,000 a decade earlier.
On the other hand, last year’s numbers in both categories were down from the toll in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, which were notable for increases in many crime categories. Gun violence levels clearly have receded as the pandemic and its many disruptions faded.
Other speakers included Alex Piquero of the University of Miami, Anthony Braga of the University of Pennsylvania, Joseph Richardson of the University of Maryland, Veronica Pear of the University of California Davis, April Zeoli of the University of Michigan and Daniel Webster of Johns Hopkins University.