Impact of Gun Violence on Black Americans
Impact of Gun Violence on Black Americans
What is the problem?
Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by gun violence. They experience nearly 10 times the gun homicides, 15 times the gun assaults, and 3 times the fatal police shootings of white Americans.
Gun homicides, assaults, and police shootings are disproportionately prevalent in historically underfunded neighborhoods and cities. This lack of funding intensifies our country’s long-standing racial inequities.
Local groups, residents, and city officials are driving solutions to reduce gun violence and increase safety in their communities, but data and resources are needed to support these efforts.
What are the solutions?
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Violence Intervention Programs
Violence intervention programs provide comprehensive support to individuals who are at greatest risk of gunshot victimization. These programs are shown to reduce gunshot woundings and deaths in the neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.
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Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Assistance Funding
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) victim assistance funds are federal funds that can be used to support services for victims and survivors of gun violence. Many of the services eligible for VOCA victim assistance funds are already being provided by gun violence intervention programs, such as street outreach and hospital-based violence intervention programs. VOCA victim assistance grants should be used to help reduce gun violence and support gun violence survivors.
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Repeal Stand Your Ground Laws
Stand Your Ground laws allow people to shoot to kill in public even when they can safely walk away from the danger. These laws threaten public safety by encouraging armed vigilantism. They allow a person to kill another person in a public area even when there are clear and safe ways to retreat from a dangerous situation.
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Prevent Gun Trafficking
The United States lacks strong federal gun trafficking laws to crack down on illegal gun trafficking networks. Gun trafficking and straw purchasing laws could help keep guns off our streets.
Featured Resources

Stand Your Ground Laws Are A License to Kill
Stand Your Ground laws distort the public perception of lawful self-defense and encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later.
Community-led Public Safety Strategies
Communities affected by gun violence need immediate and locally driven interventions in addition to larger scale policy reform.

EveryStat
See how gun violence impacts communities by state, county, race and ethnicity, gender, and intent.
A Fund for Healing: VOCA Grants for Violence Reduction
The Needs Of Gun Violence Victims In America America’s gun homicide rate is tragic and unique—it is 25 times higher than that of other high-income…
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Impact of Gun Violence on Black Americans
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Community-Led Services for Survivors
Community-led services can assist survivors by responding to incidents of gun violence in their community and providing ongoing care in the
Fact Sheet
A Deadly Year in Cities — And How Policymakers Can Respond
The surge in gun homicides is an upward trend that is being felt in communities across the nation.
Fact Sheet
Gun Violence and the Police
Every year, police in America shoot and kill more than 1,000 people.
Fact Sheet
Gun Violence in America
We have gathered the most comprehensive, publicly available data to illustrate the magnitude of everyday gun violence.
Report