On Friday, the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers University hosted its first Gun Violence Research Center Day. It focused on gun violence and trauma in the Black community, the LGBTQ+ community and looked at community-based solutions to help combat gun violence in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy spoke at the event.
In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, Dr. Michael Anestis, the center’s executive director, discussing the recent wave of mass shootings in the U.S., said, “Sort of astoundingly, these mass shootings represent only about one percent of gun violence in this country. So, on the one hand, how can there be so many and on the other hand, how much gun violence must we have.”
Discussing the group’s research work, he said, “What we’re finding is a lot about ways we have interventions to prevent all forms of gun violence, including both homicide and suicide. And also a better understanding about who owns firearms illicitly and can we reach those folks to stem the tide of dangerous use of firearms that are acquired outside of the traditional channels.”
