March 2017
The unexpected election of Donald Trump to the US presidency has changed the national conversation on firearms. Trump was a clear supporter of gun rights throughout the presidential campaign and has widely claimed support from the gun lobby as a core part of his appeal; the gun lobby spent more than $30 million on the campaign. These developments portend challenges to advancing gun policy at the federal level in the next four years, if not longer.
In an effort to address this shortcoming, representatives of 42 public health schools and programs from 22 states and 17 leading public health and gun violence prevention advocacy organizations convened in Boston on November 14, 2016, to develop an action agenda for academic public health around the firearm injury crisis. They identified five leading imperatives and key tactical approaches: strengthening research and scholarship, building public health networks and crosssectoral collaborations, promoting a conversation around gun safety, nurturing state-level initiatives, and developing a business plan and engaging the private sector.
