A Year of Impact: 2025 Accomplishments in Research, Policy, and Public Health Leadership
From landmark legal victories to new state policies and groundbreaking research, the Center continued to lead with evidence and action to reduce gun violence by 30% by 2030.
2025 Accomplishments
We marked 30 years of national leadership on gun violence research and strategic advocacy to save lives.
The Center’s Distinguished Research Scholar, Daniel Webster, ScD’91, MPH provided expert testimony in a lawsuit that resulted in the largest-ever verdict against a gun dealer in U.S. history—directing $62 million to support community gun violence prevention programs in Baltimore.
We published 55 groundbreaking new studies to inform and develop gun violence solutions, including:
- A special collection in INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing—"A Decade of ERPO: What does the evidence say about the use, effectiveness and opportunities for improving implementation + impact of this important firearm violence prevention tool?"
- "Juvenile Injuries and Deaths from Shootings by Police in the United States, 2015–2020."
We advanced 5 priority gun violence prevention policies toward our goal to reduce gun violence 30% by 2030.
Firearm Purchaser Licensing
- Helped pass a permit-to-purchase law, a version of firearm purchaser licensing, in Washington. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C now have some form of firearm purchaser licensing.
- Released resources including Firearm Purchaser Licensing: Research Evidence to Inform State Policy report and Firearm Purchaser Licensing Model Policy Guide.
Firearm Removal Laws
- Trained over 1,100 Extreme Protection Order (ERPO) implementers, including law enforcement, judges, clinicians, and advocates through our National ERPO Resource Center.
- Helped pass a law that strengthened New Mexico’s existing ERPO policy.
Safe and Secure Firearm Storage
- The Center’s Clinical Programs and Practice team distributed over 600 cable locks and 230 lock boxes to Johns Hopkins Medicine clinicians who provided safe storage counseling to patients and families.
- Released the Safe Storage Model Policy Guide for lawmakers to create effective safe gun storage laws for their state.
- Created Safe Gun Storage Toolkits to encourage Americans to securely store guns.
- Conducted a national Gun Violence Awareness Month campaign to promote safe gun storage, reaching over 380 media outlets and airing nearly 850 public service announcements.
Public Carry of Firearms
- Created a Q&A and factsheet providing information on Public Carry of Firearms, Permitless Carry, and Stand Your Ground Laws.
Community Violence Interventions
- Supported the launch of a Violence Reduction Council in Toledo, OH to address community gun violence and started helping establish councils in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Received a $3.9 million grant from the Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago (SC2) to help evaluate community violence in partnership with the University of Maryland and Northwestern University.
We supported gun violence prevention in states across the country with state-specific resources.
- Worked closely with 22 states and Washington, D.C.
- Advised 83 legislators to support 27 gun violence prevention bills by drafting legislation for 12 bills and testifying 17 times to support the proposed legislation.
- Created state-specific policy roadmaps for Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico, with forthcoming roadmaps for Maryland and Maine.
- Participated in 8 GVP Advocacy Days in Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Colorado, Delaware, and Virginia.
- Launched an interactive webpage, detailing gun death data for every state and county in the country.
As firearm suicides reach record levels, we joined forces with the Johns Hopkins Center for Suicide Prevention to release Gun Violence in the United States 2023: Examining the Gun Suicide Epidemic report and From Crisis to Action: Public Health Recommendations for Firearm Suicide Prevention.
We released the Biannual Johns Hopkins National Survey of Gun Policy, revealing wide support for gun violence prevention policies across political lines and among both gun owners and non-owners.
Center faculty, staff, and colleagues responded to the Trump administration’s proposed federal rule restoring firearm rights to people with a felony conviction and other federal firearm prohibitors.
We leveraged our unique ability to convene researchers and practitioners to develop cutting-edge gun violence prevention approaches including:
Intersection Between Guns and Alcohol with the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance, which established a bi-monthly community of practice.
Engaging Black Women and Girls in Reducing Gun Violence: A Road Map for Safer Communities with Sustain Equity Group, which elevated the voices of Black women and girls and called for inclusive leadership.
The Center’s Broadened Impact and Reach
Prominent national media outlets featured the Center’s work, earning 3,860 media mentions this year. Coverage included 15 op-eds.
Center staff shared gun violence prevention solutions at more than 250 public education events, including webinars, symposiums, colloquiums, and conferences.
The Center’s interactive website, which showcases resources, shares vital research, and amplifies solutions, has seen a 100% increase in visitors this year.
Center faculty taught over a dozen courses, teaching hundreds of public health students, training the next generation to help fulfill a future free of gun violence.
