APA and psychologists nationwide are working with experts from other disciplines to develop a comprehensive public health approach to gun violence that is informed by scientific evidence. In February, APA signed a letter to congressional policymakers with 75 national organizations calling for bipartisan comprehensive legislative solutions to firearm-related injuries and fatalities. APA also sent its own letter and policy recommendations to congressional leadership, urging them to take a comprehensive public health approach to gun violence prevention.
"Federal policy should address gun violence with the same dedication applied to other successful public health initiatives over the past 25 years, such as immunizations, public sanitation, and motor vehicle safety," the organizations said in the letter.
"The more we can work in partnership with other organizations, the more effective our voice is going to be on this issue," says APA's CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD.
APA has also endorsed an eight-point "Call for Action to Prevent Gun Violence in the United States of America," developed by 19 interdisciplinary experts. The plan involves three levels of prevention:
- Promoting safety and well-being for everyone with a national requirement for schools to assess their climate and maintain safe and positive school environments, as well as a federal ban on assault-style weapons.
- Reducing risk and promoting protective factors, such as ensuring that schools and community mental health centers have adequate staff.
- Providing interventions for individuals where violence is present or appears imminent, including programs to train and maintain school- and community-based threat assessment teams and advocating for the removal of legal barriers to sharing safety-related information about individuals who have threatened violence.
—Amy Novotney
