Impact of Gun Violence on Historically Marginalized Communities
Impact of Gun Violence on Historically Marginalized Communities
What does it solve?
Gun violence affects every person in America, but the weight of this crisis is not felt equally across demographic groups.
Inequities in systems such as those in our justice, health, housing, and education institutions, along with generations of discrimination and disinvestment in certain communities, have exacerbated the gun violence crisis in a way that disproportionately impacts historically marginalized communities, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ people.
What are the solutions?
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Violence Intervention Programs
Violence intervention programs provide evidence and community-informed, comprehensive support to individuals who are at greatest risk of gunshot victimization. These programs are shown to reduce gunshot wounds 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 Shoot First Laws
Shoot First, also known as 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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Disarm Hate
Guns and hate are a fatal combination. In an average year, more than 25,000 hate crimes in the US involve a firearm—69 a day.[mfn]Everytown Research analysis of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). A yearly average was developed using 12 years of the most recently available data: 2010 to 2021.[/mfn] In parts of the US, some people convicted of hate crimes can still legally buy and have guns. Congress and state legislatures should pass laws that keep guns out of the hands of those who have been convicted of hate crimes.
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Prohibit People With Dangerous Histories From Having Guns
People with dangerous histories should be prohibited from having guns. Federal law prohibits gun possession by certain categories of people. States also set standards for who is too dangerous to have guns. People prohibited by federal or state law will fail a background check if they try to buy a gun from a licensed dealer.
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Extreme Risk Laws
When a person is in crisis and considering harming themselves or others, family members and law enforcement are often the first people to see the warning signs. Extreme Risk laws, sometimes referred to as “Red Flag” laws, allow loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court for an order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.
Featured Resources

Armed Extremism in Buffalo: Online Gun Communities Provide a Path of Radicalization and Training to a Racist Shooter
The Buffalo, NY mass shooting in May 2022 at Tops Friendly Market was an act of white supremacist, hate-motivated violence.
The Impact of Gun Violence on Latinx Communities
Latinx people in the United States are dying from gun violence every day and at rates disproportionate to their white peers.

Invisible Wounds: Gun Violence and Community Trauma among Black Americans
Persistent gun violence is harming too many Black communities in the U.S., contributing to individual, family, and community-level trauma.

Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ+ Bias and Guns are Taking the Lives of Countless LGBTQ+ People
Pulse is a reminder of the work that remains to end the acts of gun violence that wound and kill LGBTQ+ Americans today.

Guns and Violence Against Women: America’s Uniquely Lethal Intimate Partner Violence Problem
Laws keeping guns out of the hands of abusers are associated with lower rates of violence against women and intimate partner homicides.
All Resources
Impact of Gun Violence on Historically Marginalized Communities
All Resources
Beyond Measure: Gun Violence Trauma
This study focuses on trauma from gun violence by listening to the voices and experiences of those directly impacted.
Report
Summer Youth Employment Programs for Violence Prevention: A Guide to Implementation and Costing
Investing in an SYEP is a cost-effective way to help prevent violence in cities.
Fact Sheet
Gun Violence Survivors in America
This survey explores the breadth of gun violence in America and how it impacts survivors.
Report
Sobrevivientes de violencia con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos
Esta encuesta explora la amplitud de la violencia con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos y su impacto en los sobrevivientes.
Report
When the Shooting Stops: The Impact of Gun Violence on Survivors in America
The trauma of gun violence doesn’t end when the shooting stops. Experiencing gun violence has a lasting impact on survivors.
Report
Cuando el tiroteo se detiene: El impacto de la violencia con armas de fuego en los sobrevivientes de los Estados Unidos
El trauma de la violencia con armas de fuego no termina cuando se detiene el tiroteo.
Report
Misogyny, Extremism, and Gun Violence
The impact of violent misogyny, combined with the unique harm of violence involving guns, makes addressing it an urgent issue.
Report
El impacto de la violencia con armas de fuego en las comunidades latines
Las personas latines en los EE UU mueren a causa de la violencia armada en tasas desproporcionadas con respecto a los blancos.
Fact SheetAlternative Dispatch Programs
Creating alternative dispatch options that connect people in crisis with mental health services is key in preventing police gun violence.
Fact Sheet
Hurdles to Healing: Fixing Victim Compensation Funds
Victim compensation funds are available to survivors of gun violence, but obstacles and restrictions make the funds difficult to access
Fact Sheet
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.
Fact Sheet
A License to Kill: Shoot First Laws, also known as Stand Your Ground
Stand Your Ground laws distort the public perception of lawful self-defense and encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later.
Fact Sheet
Community-Led Public Safety Strategies
Communities affected by gun violence need immediate and locally driven interventions in addition to larger scale policy reform.
Fact SheetGun Violence and the Police
Every year, police in America shoot and kill more than 1,000 people.
Fact Sheet
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 26 times higher than…
Report