The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has for decades spearheaded federal efforts to understand and reduce gun violence. Sweeping cuts imposed by the Trump administration are now threatening that work.
As The Trace reported this past spring, the administration forced the CDC to lay off more than 2,400 employees, including teams responsible for gun violence research and prevention. The agency’s Division of Violence Prevention is estimated to have lost about three-quarters of its staff. Dozens of employees in the CDC unit that runs the WISQARS gun death and injury database were also let go.
The Trace examines how the field of firearm injury prevention research could be effected by ongoing federal changes and uncertainty, citing the critical findings of an Institute-led study that show firearms as the leading cause of death among children and teens.