9A Year in Review: 2020 Gun Deaths in the U.S.
Policy Reco
mmendations
Gun violence is a complex issue requiring many approaches to its prevention. We are committed
to evidence-based policies, programs, and practices and ensuring that all of these preventative
measures are designed and implemented equitably. Below, we highlight a few promising policy
recommendations to stop gun violence in all its forms. For more information on gun violence
solutions, visit our website at https://publichealth.jhu.edu/gun-violence-solutions.
States should implement firearm purchaser licensing (also known as permit-to-
purchase) that requires prospective gun purchasers to obtain a license prior to
buying a gun.
• F
irearm purchaser licensing systems create a robust structure to verify individuals’ identities
and ensure they are not prohibited from gun ownership. Background checks as part of a firearm
purchaser licensing system often are facilitated using fingerprints and utilize records at the state
level that might not have been reported to the federal system. Firearm purchaser licensing laws
are associated with lower rates of diversion of guns for use in crime, homicide and suicide by
firearm, mass shootings, and shootings by police.
8,9,10,11
These laws are supported by more than
75% of adults, including more than 60% of gun owners and Republicans.
12
States should enact and implement firearm removal laws—Domestic Violence
Protection Orders (DVPOs) and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs).
• DVPOs are civil court orders to protect victims and survivors of domestic abuse, including dating
partners. Federal law prohibits anyone subject to a DVPO issued after notice and hearing from
purchasing or possessing firearms. Research shows that the stronger the DVPO protections, the
stronger the life-saving benefits. For example, the largest reductions in intimate partner homicide
connected to DVPO firearm restrictions are those that extend to dating partners, temporary or
emergency orders, and those that explicitly require defendants to surrender their firearms.
13
• ERPO laws, which are modeled o of DVPOs, create a civil process allowing law enforcement,
family members, and, in some states, medical professionals to petition a court to temporarily
separate someone at risk of harming themselves or others from their firearms. ERPOs also prohibit
individuals from acquiring new guns for the duration of the order. ERPO laws are associated with
lower rates of firearm suicide and have been successfully used in response to threats of mass
shootings. Law enforcement-initiated ERPOs are supported by 76% of adults, including more than
65% of gun owners and Republicans. Family-initiated ERPOs are supported by 80% of adults,
including more than 70% of gun owners and Republicans.
14
8
Crifasi CK, McCourt AD, & Webster DW. (2020). The impact of handgun purchaser licensing on gun violence. John Hopkins University
Bloomberg School of Public Health. Available: https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-violence-
prevention-and-policy/_docs/Impact_of_Handgun.pdf
9 McCourt AD, Crifasi CK, Stuart EA, Vernick, JS, Kagawa RMC, Wintemute GJ, & Webster DW. (2020). Purchaser licensing laws, point-of-sale
background check laws, and firearm homicide and suicide in 4 US States, 1985-2017. American Journal of Public Health.
10 Webster DW, McCourt AD, Crifasi CK, Booty MD, & Stuart EA. (2020). Evidence concerning the regulation of firearms design, sale, and
carrying on fatal mass shootings in the United States. Criminology and Public Policy.
11 Crifasi CK, Pollack K, & Webster DW. (2016). The influence of state-level policy changes on the risk environment for law enforcement ocers.
Injury Prevention.
12 Barry CL, Stone E, Crifasi CK, Vernick JS, Webster DW, & McGinty EE. (2019). Trends in Americans’ support for gun policies. Health Aairs.
13 Zeoli AM, McCourt A, Buggs S, Frattaroli S, Lilley D, & Webster DW. (2018). Analysis of the strength of legal firearms restrictions for
perpetrators of domestic violence and their associations with intimate partner homicide. American Journal of Epidemiology.
14 Barry CL, Stone E, Crifasi CK, Vernick JS, Webster DW, & McGinty EE. (2019). Trends in Americans’ support for gun policies. Health Affairs.