JAMA
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CHICAGO, IL — Since the start of the 21st century, more than 800,000 people in the US have died from firearm-related injuries, and over two million have been injured. These harms stem from homicide, suicide, and unintentional shootings, reverberating through communities and resulting in psychological, social, and economic consequences that go far beyond physical injury.
Amid these persistent challenges, JAMA and JAMA Network convened a JAMA Summit in March 2025, bringing together 60 thought leaders from medicine, public health, law, industry, and community violence intervention, with a singular focus: how to substantially reduce firearm harms. Today, JAMA publishes the JAMA Summit Report on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms, a blueprint for action featuring experts from across sectors committed to advancing evidence-based solutions to reduce firearm-related injury and death.
Charting the Path Forward: The Vision for 2040
The report synthesizes a rich evidence base on policies and interventions that demonstrably reduce firearm violence and deaths, including state laws on handgun purchaser licensing and safe firearm storage, strong domestic violence restraining orders and removal policies, extreme risk protection orders, community violence intervention (CVI) programs, environmental changes (i.e., greening vacant lots and improving street lighting), and collaborative, focused policing.
Authors pinpoint five essential actions to drive progress in the coming years:
1. Invest in community-based initiatives and address upstream drivers like housing, opportunity, and mistrust.
2. Advance technologies such as biometric “smart guns,” passive detection systems, and safety tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI), while strengthening oversight for firearms as consumer products.
3. Shift public and policymaker understanding about the preventability of firearm harms, reframing gun violence as a public health, social, and environmental issue.
4. Support coordinated action at federal, state, and local levels informed by scientific insight and advocacy.
5. Expand research on the effectiveness, scaling, and equity of interventions—from basic science to agent-based modeling and community impact assessment.
About the Authors
The JAMA Summit Report is coauthored by 41 experts. JAMA Media Relations curated the following experts for media interviews based on their contributions to the report and their subject matter expertise.
- Corresponding Author Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Rivara was the longtime Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Pediatrics and the founding Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Network Open. He also acted as Chair of the March 2025 JAMA Summit: Firearm Violence. Contact mediarelations@uw.edu
- Therese S. Richmond, PhD, RN, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, was a member of the lead writing team. Contact Ed Federico at efed@nursing.upenn.edu
- Stephen Hargarten, MD, MPH, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, was a member of the lead writing team. Contact Colleen McDonald at
- Charles C. Branas, PhD, of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, served on the JAMA Summit Steering Committee and is a prominent public health expert. Contact Stephanie Berger at sb2247@cumc.columbia.edu or 917-734-8973
- Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, Dean of the Yale School of Public Health, contributed a section of the report. She is a frequent commentator in news outlets around firearm harms and public health issues. Contact Michael Fitzgerald at f.fitzgerald@yale.edu
- Anthony A. Braga, PhD, MPA, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences Department of Criminology, is a renowned criminologist. Contact sas-advancement@sas.upenn.edu
- Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is a trauma surgeon and Director of Emergency General Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is also a survivor of gun violence. Contact Michael Newman at mnewma25@jhmi.edu
- Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, is the Dean of Washington University School of Public Health and Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Health Forum. Contact Deb Parker at parkerd@wustl.edu or 314-640-1462
Additional authors grouped by subject matter expertise
Community Violence Intervention
- DeVone Boggan (Advance Peace) – Community violence intervention, urban gun violence prevention. devone@advancepeace.org
- Sheena Erete, PhD (University of Maryland) – Co-designing technologies for violence prevention, community engagement. Contact Sara Gavin at sgavin@umd.edu
- Joseph Richardson Jr., PhD, MA (University of Maryland) – Gun violence, trauma, community violence interventions; focus on Black children and men. Contact Sara Gavin at sgavin@umd.edu
- Marc A. Zimmerman, PhD (University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention) – Youth violence prevention, community-based intervention. Contact Kate Barnes at katebarn@umich.edu
Law & History
- Jennifer Tucker, PhD, MPhil (Wesleyan University) – Historian of guns, firearm culture studies. Contact Renell Wynn at rwynn@wesleyan.edu or 860-685-2768.
- Michael R. Ulrich, JD, MPH (Boston University School of Public Health; Boston University School of Law) – Health law, constitutional law, bioethics, social justice. Contact Kim Miragliuolo at kmira@bu.edu.
Public Policy & Political Science
- John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP (University of Michigan) – Health policy, access/disparities. Contact Kim North Shine at kshine@umich.edu or Kara Gavin at kegavin@med.umich.edu
- Nancy La Vigne, PhD, MPP (Dean; Rutgers School of Criminal Justice) – Criminal justice reform, policy data and research. Contact Caitlin Kizielewicz at kiz@rutgers.edu
- Adam Seth Levine, PhD (Johns Hopkins University) – Political science, public health policy. Contact jhunews@jhu.edu
- Jens Ludwig, PhD (University of Chicago Crime Lab; University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy) – Crime/public policy; author of Unforgiving Places. Contact Kim Smith at kimberleys@uchicago.edu or Dave Stone at davestone@uchicago.edu
- Nason Maani, PhD, MPH (University of Edinburgh) – Global health policy, social determinants of health. Contact Gordon Coutts at Coutts@ed.ac.uk
- Laura Vargas, PhD, MPA, MSW (University of Colorado School of Medicine) – Global implications of firearm flow across borders. Contact Kelsea Pieters at PIETERS@CUANSCHUTZ.EDU
- Nick Wilson, MPP (Center for American Progress) – Gun violence prevention, criminal justice policy. nwilson@americanprogress.org
- Zirui Song, MD, PhD (Harvard Medical School) – Health care policy, economic effects of policies. Contact Jake Miller at Jake_miller@hms.harvard.edu
Technology
- Anil Chitkara, MBA (Evolv Technology) – Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technology. Contact Alex Ozerkis at aozerkis@evolvtechnology.com
- Roger L. McCarthy, PhD, Mech. E (National Academy of Engineering) – Technology/engineering advances. Contact news@nas.edu
Sociology
- Desmond Patton, PhD, MSW (University of Pennsylvania) – Sociologist, social media’s role in gun violence. Contact Marjan Gartland at marjanog@upenn.edu
- Joseph Richardson Jr., PhD, MA (University of Maryland) – Trauma, violence in African-American communities. Contact Sara Gavin at sgavin@umd.edu
- Robert Sampson, PhD (Harvard University) – Crime, urban social structure, collective efficacy. Contact James Chisholm at james_chisholm@fas.harvard.edu
Epidemiology
- Shani A.L. Buggs, PhD, MPH (UC Davis) – Social epidemiology, violence prevention. sabuggs@health.ucdavis.edu
- Magdalena Cerdá, DrPH, MPH (NYU Langone Health) – Drug policy, firearm disqualification. Contact Sasha Walek at Walek@nyulangone.org
- David Hemenway, PhD (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) – Injury prevention, epidemiology of firearm injuries. Contact Maya Brownstein at mbrownstein@hsph.harvard.edu
- Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, PhD, MPH (University of Washington) – Epidemiology of violence/firearm injury. Contact mediarelations@uw.edu
Clinical Medicine (including surgical and psychological specializations)
- Terri A. deRoon Cassini, MS, PhD (Medical College of Wisconsin) – Health psychology, trauma survivors. Contact Colleen McDonald at cmcdonald@mcw.edu or 414-801-3146.
- Rochelle Dicker, MD (University of California, San Francisco) – Surgery, trauma care, global surgical studies. Contact Suzanne Leigh at Suzanne.Leigh@ucsf.edu or 415-680-5133.
- Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH (Duke Global Health Institute; Harvard Medical School) – Infectious diseases, clinical/public health leadership. Contact Michael Penn at m.penn@duke.edu
- Laura Vargas, PhD, MPA, MSW (University of Colorado School of Medicine) – Latinx health, mental health following trauma. Contact Kelsea Pieters at KELSEA.PIETERS@CUANSCHUTZ.EDU
Medical Research (including outcomes, prevention, and policy evaluation)
- Cassandra Crifasi, PhD, MPH (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) – Gun violence prevention, policy evaluation. Contact Joseph McHugh at joemchugh@jhu.edu
- Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) – Firearm violence, policy evaluation. Contact Joseph McHugh at joemchugh@jhu.edu
About JAMA Summit
JAMA Summit convenes leaders across disciplines and sectors to propose innovative, actionable steps addressing urgent health challenges. Outcomes include special communications, policy recommendations, and a growing library of multimedia resources designed to catalyze broader discussion and action.
Learn more about past JAMA Summits and read resulting JAMA Summit Reports: AI in Medicine and Clinical Trials.
(doi:10.1001/jama.2025.18076)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflicts of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.
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For more information, contact JAMA Network Media Relations at 312-464-JAMA (5262) or email media relations.
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