SHM Joins 412 Organizations in urging to Fund Gun Violence Prevention Research

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May 20, 2025

The Honorable Susan Collins
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patty Murray
Vice Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tom Cole
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chair Collins, Vice Chair Murray, Chairman Cole, and Ranking Member DeLauro:

As you consider appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the undersigned 412 national, state, and local medical, public health, and research organizations write to ask you to provide $35 million for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), $25 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and $1 million for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention.

We represent many medical, public health, and research organizations, including members who are proud firearm owners. The freedom of individuals to own firearms can and should be balanced with protecting children and their families from serious harm, and ensuring the health, security, and well-being of all people. This is why our organizations strongly support federal funding for research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention.

We are grateful to Congress for providing $12.5 million for the CDC and $12.5 million for the NIH in FY 2025 and encourage Congress to sustain and build on this funding in FY 2026. These agencies, along with the NIJ, are complementary yet uniquely integral to this work. The CDC focuses its research efforts on preventing firearm-related injuries and sharing vital public health statistics; the NIH focuses on using health system data to identify the root causes behind firearm injury; and the NIJ focuses on the links between firearm-related injuries, deaths, and crime. All three share and use their collective findings to best inform their work and evaluate potential lifesaving interventions.

Across this country, communities are suffering from preventable firearm-related injuries and deaths. Suicide, violent crime, and accidental shootings cause trauma to families, communities, and children affected by these preventable tragedies. In 2023, the most recent year for which we have data, firearm-related injuries led to 46,728 total fatalities, with suicides contributing to more than half of those deaths.

After decades without dedicated funding, Congress came together in 2019 to reach a bipartisan agreement to provide this research funding in the FY 2020 spending bill that was signed into law by President Trump. We are grateful for these continued investments and their positive impact in the lives of Americans. These initial research investments are a crucial step toward increasing gun safety and reducing firearm-related injuries and deaths, and we are excited to see these funds contributing to important research projects that are now underway.

Since 2020, the CDC and NIH have made dozens of awards for two- and three-year projects in states all across the country to improve scientific understanding of firearm-related morbidity and mortality and to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of death and injury prevention strategies, as well as determinants of firearm injury, the identification of those at risk, and the evaluation of innovative interventions. Several of these projects provide insights on how to reduce suicide risk in U.S. Army soldiers and veterans, how to partner with families and adolescents in rural areas to promote firearm safety, how to improve intervention strategies to reduce urban youth firearm injuries, how to help families with loved ones experiencing dementia talk through secure storage solutions, and the relationship between firearm access and opioid-related harm on firearm suicide risk, among other topics. This research is already yielding valuable results: we now have insight into screening tools and interventions for healthcare settings that could help prevent future violence and suicide among people at risk, and into the use of crisis hotline data to better understand how mass shootings impact young people.

These initial investments are important, but increased funding is still needed to overcome the decades-long lack of federal funding that set back our nation’s response to the public health issue of firearm-related morbidity and mortality. A 2021 report by Health Management Associates estimated that the federal government will need to spend approximately $100 million per year to fully fund a comprehensive research agenda on reducing firearm morbidity and mortality. At current funding levels, agencies receive many more quality proposals than they are able to fund. With additional funding, we can research the most effective methods to prevent firearm-related suicides, measures to help prevent the next shooting at a school or public place, how to help law enforcement address illegal guns in our communities, and numerous other vital public health questions.

Our groups strongly urge Congress to increase the funding level to $35 million for the CDC, $25 million for the NIH, and $1 million for the NIJ for firearm morbidity and mortality prevention research as part of FY 2026 appropriations. Continuing this funding is critical, and expanded funding could support the creation of additional, multi-year studies and accelerate the rebuilding of a research community that shrank in the decades before Congress restored this federal funding under the Trump administration. Robust and sustained research on motor vehicle crashes and subsequent legislation has helped save hundreds of thousands of lives through public health interventions, including seat belts and other safety features. The same approach can help reduce firearm-related injuries in our communities, including ensuring that the CDC, NIH, and NIJ are able to adequately fund non-biased, evidence-based research into this public health priority.

Our organizations stand ready to work with you to support this critical effort. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

National Organizations:
AANS/CNS Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care
AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurosurgery
Academic Pediatric Association
Access Ready Inc.
Advocate Health
AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services
AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families
American Academy of Emergency Medicine
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare
American Anthropological Association
American Art Therapy Association
American Association for Community Psychiatry
American Association for Emergency Psychiatry
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP)
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American College of Clinical Pharmacy
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Physicians
American College of Preventive Medicine
American College of Surgeons
American Educational Research Association
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Geriatrics Society
American Medical Association
American Medical Women's Association
American Mental Health Counselors Association
American Nurses Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Pediatric Society
American Pediatric Surgical Association
American Physical Therapy Association
American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC)
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association Services
American Public Health Association
American School Counselor Association
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Surgery of the Hand Professional Organization
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons
American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology
American Thoracic Society
American Trauma Society
Association of Academic Physiatrists
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Departments of Family Medicine
Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Population Centers
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Big Cities Health Coalition
Camp Fire National Headquarters
Catholic Health Association of the United States
Child Injury Prevention Alliance
Child Neurology Foundation
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Health Fund
Children's Hospital Association
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Council of Pediatric Subspecialties
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Council on Social Work Education
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Doctors for America
Emergency Nurses Association
Family Centered Treatment Foundation
Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Financial, Analytic, and Strategic Services for Nonprofit and Government Agencies
First Focus Campaign for Children
Futures Without Violence
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
Global Alliance for Behavioral Health & Social Justice
Grandmothers for Gun Responsibility
Health Resources in Action
Healthy Teen Network
Injury Free Coalition for Kids
International Association of Forensic Nurses
Jewish Women International
Just Solutions
Kids and Car Safety
MomsRising
MOORE | Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
NAPCRG
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Asian Pacific American Families Allied for Substance Awareness and Harm Reduction
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Medical Examiners
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Council on Family Relations
National Hispanic Medical Association
National League for Nursing
National Organization for Women
National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
National PTA
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
OnCall4Kids
Peace Through Action USA
Pediatric & Young Adult Oncology and Sociology
Pediatric Endocrine Society
Pediatric Policy Council
Pediatric Trauma Society (PTS)
PIRE-Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
Population Association of America
Prevention Institute
Primary Care Development Corporation
Research!America
Research Institute for Key Indicators Data Lab
Research Society for the Prevention of Firearm Related Harms
Respect Together
Safe States Alliance
Sandy Hook Promise
Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic, Inc. (SAFE)
Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research
Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP)
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Pediatric Anesthesia
Society for Pediatric Pathology
Society for Pediatric Radiology
Society for Pediatric Research
Society for Prevention Research
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
Society of Behavioral Medicine
Society of Critical Care Medicine
Society of Hospital Medicine
Society of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Stop Abuse Campaign
The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention
The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health/Got Transition
The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
The Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
The Steve Nash Foundation
THE SUSAN JOLLEY FOUNDATION
The Triological Society
Trinity Health
Youth Villages

State and Local Organizations:

Alabama
Alabama Chapter - American Academy of Pediatrics
VOICES for Alabama’s Children

Alaska
Alaska Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians

Arizona
Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Arizona Public Health Association
Arizona Neurological Society
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona

Arkansas
Arkansas Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Arkansas Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

California
AAP California Chapter 1
African American Wellness Center for Children & Families
American Academy of Pediatrics CA2
American Academy of Pediatrics, CA Chapter 3
American Academy of Pediatrics - Orange County Chapter
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Neurology Society
Centers for Violence Prevention, University of California, Davis (CVP does not speak for UCD
as a whole)
Children's Advocacy Institute (of the University of San Diego School of Law)
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Consumer Protection Policy Center
East Bay Asian Youth Center
John Burton Advocates for Youth
Los Angeles, California Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Orange County, California Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Sacramento, California Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
San Francisco, California Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Southern California Public Health Association
UCLA

Colorado
American Academy of Pediatrics, Colorado Chapter
Colorado Public Health Association

Connecticut
Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians

Delaware
Delaware Academy of Medicine & Public Health Association
Delaware Association of School Psychologists (DASP)
Delaware Chapter of ACEP
Delaware Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Kohnlinq, Inc.
WeKonnect, LLC

District of Columbia
American Academy of Pediatrics, DC Chapter
DC Action
DC Public Health Association
Washington, DC Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

Florida
Florida Chapter American College of Physicians
Florida Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, Inc.
Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation/Florida College of Emergency Physicians
Florida Geriatrics Society
FL National Organization for Women
FL0365 Pasco County National Org for Women
Greater Orlando National Organization for Women (Greater Orlando NOW)
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Florida Chapter
Temple Beth Sholom

Georgia
American Medical Women's Association GA Physicians Chapter
Dr. Ralph Harris & Associates, LLC
GA NOW
Georgia Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics
Georgia Clinicians for Gun Safety
Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Georgia Public Health Association
Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory
Valley Healthcare System Inc.

Hawaii
Hawaii Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Hawaii Public Health Association

Idaho
Idaho Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Illinois
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Illinois Academy of Family Physicians
Illinois Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics
Illinois Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Illinois National Organization for Women
Illinois Public Health Association
Illinois State Medical Society
Mothers War on Violence Ministry
Will County NOW

Indiana
Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence
Indiana Association of School Nurses
Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Indiana University
Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY)
Marion County Youth Violence Prevention Coalition
Sekhem Institute for Holistic Healing, Inc.

Iowa
Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Iowa Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians

Kansas
Kansas Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics

Kentucky
Kentucky Public Health Association
Kentucky Psychological Association
Kentucky Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Physicians
Kentucky Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky

Louisiana
Louisiana Public Health Association
The Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Tulane University Violence Prevention Institute
VIA LINK and Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana (PCAL)

Maine
Maine Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Maine Chapter - American College of Emergency Physicians
Maine Chapter of the American College of Physicians
Maine Children's Alliance
Maine Children's Trust
Maine Neurological Society
Maine Osteopathic Association
Maine Providers for Gun Safety
Maine Psychological Association
Maine Public Health Association

Maryland
Innovating Minds
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine
Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (MDAAP)
Maryland Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians
Maryland Chapter of the American College of Physicians
Maryland Chesapeake Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Positive Youth Development
Program
NAMI Howard County, MD
PROGRESS at University of Maryland
The Family Tree
The Maryland Psychiatric Society, Inc.
The Parents' Place of MD
University of Maryland PROGRESS Initiative

Massachusetts
Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts (BIA-MA)
Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians
The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation at Brigham and Women's
Hospital
YMCA of Greater Boston

Michigan
Brain Injury Association of Michigan
Corewell Health Children's
Henry Ford Health St. John Children's Hospital
Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Michigan Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
Michigan College of Emergency Physicians
Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health
Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence (PPGV)
The Arc Michigan

Minnesota
Children's Minnesota
Minnesota Association of Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians (MAGIC)
Minnesota Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Minnesota Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians
Minnesota Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Minnesota Medical Association
Minnesota Public Health Association
Protect MN

Mississippi
Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Missouri
Missouri Psychological Association
Missouri Public Health Association (MPHA)
National Organization for Women, Columbia Area
National Organization for Women, Missouri

Montana
Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Nebraska
Nebraska Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Public Health Association of Nebraska

Nevada
Nevada Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Nevada Public Health Association

New Hampshire
NHAAP
NHAFP
NHACEP
NHACP
NH Psychiatric Society

New Jersey
Family Voices NJ
NAMI Essex/Passaic
New Jersey Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
New Jersey College of Emergency Physicians
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center
New Jersey Local Boards of Health Association
New Jersey Public Health Association (NJPHA)
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network

New Mexico
NAMI New Mexico
New Mexico Association of School Psychologists
New Mexico Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians
New Mexico Pediatric Society
Santa Fe National Organization for Women

New York
American College of Physicians New York Chapter (NYACP)
Cohen Children's Medical Center/Northwell
Greater New York State Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
New York American College of Emergency Physicians
New York State American Academy of Pediatrics
New York State Neurological Society
New York State Public Health Association
Northwell Health Center for Gun Violence Prevention
NYS AAP - Chapter 2
NYS AAP - Chapter 3
Prevent Child Abuse New York
Where Do We Go From Here Inc.

North Carolina
Batish Family Medicine
NC Pediatric Society
NC Public Health Association
North Carolina Chapter, American College of Physicians
North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians
North Carolinians Against Gun Violence
Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina

North Dakota
North Dakota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Ohio
American College of Emergency Physicians, Ohio Chapter
American College of Physicians - Ohio Chapter
Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education
Cleveland Peacemakers Inc.
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence
Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Ohio Geriatrics Society
Ohio School Psychologists Association

Oklahoma
Oklahoma Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy

Oregon
Micronesian Islander Community
Oregon Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians
Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials
Oregon Geriatrics Society
Oregon Pediatric Society
Oregon Public Health Association
Oregon Society For Post-Acute & Long-Term Care
University of Oregon

Pennsylvania
Association of School Psychologists of PA (ASPP)
PA Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians
Pennsylvania Geriatric Society - Western Division
Pennsylvania Neurological Society
Pennsylvania Public Health Association
University of Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico ACEP Chapter

Rhode Island
American Academy of Pediatrics, RI Chapter
Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families
Rhode Island Neurological Society

South Carolina
South Carolina Association of School Psychologists
South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

South Dakota
South Dakota Chapter of The American Association of Pediatrics
South Dakota Public Health Association (SDPHA)

Tennessee
Life Paths Research Center
Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Tennessee Geriatrics Society
Tennessee Music City Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Tennessee Public Health Association

Texas
North Texas Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
South Texas Alamo Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Texas Geriatrics Society, Inc.
Texas Pediatric Society
Texas Neurological Society

Utah
American Academy of Pediatrics, Utah Chapter
Utah Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Utah Public Health Association

Vermont
University of Vermont Health Network
Vermont Public Health Association

Virginia
Carilion Children's
VCU Health System
Virginia Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics

Washington
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Organization for Women, Seattle Chapter
Public Health-Seattle & King County
South Sound NOW (National Organization for Women)
Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Washington State Chapter - National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Washington State Public Health Association

West Virginia
West Virginia Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
West Virginia College of Emergency Physicians

Wisconsin
American College of Physicians, Wisconsin Chapter
Children’s Wisconsin
NAMI Northwoods
Thriving Wisconsin
WAVE Educational Fund
Wisconsin Association of Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons
Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP)
Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Wisconsin Gun Violence Prevention Coalition, Healthcare Committee
Wisconsin Neurological Society
Wisconsin Public Health Association

Wyoming
Wyoming Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics