New paper today in Criminology. Do GLP-1 medications influence behavioral pathways linked to violence? In a nationally representative U.S. sample, the links between impulsivity, alcohol use, and violence were substantially weaker among current GLP-1 users. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Before I became a gun violence researcher, I mostly wanted to play rock ’n’ roll. I wrote a short piece for the @njgvrc.bsky.social blog about how I ended up studying violence prevention. You can read it here: gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/node/4190

I see disturbing parallels between the killings of Alex Pretti and Philando Castile nearly a decade ago, both in Minnesota. When considered together, these deaths should force us to confront a difficult truth: the Second Amendment is not applied equally to all Americans.

New today in Race and Justice: Families of Black homicide victims file the most victim compensation claims but are approved less often. Disparities largely due to “contributory misconduct,” a discretionary and often biased rule. 📰 Read the full study here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/ZNHMK...

Racial Disparities in Victim Compensation Among Homicide Survivors in the United States - Daniel C. Semenza, Jeremy Levine, Tanya Sharpe, Kimberly Burke, Brielle Savage, 2025

This study investigates racial disparities in victim compensation among families of homicide victims across 18 U.S. states from 2015 to 2023. Using individual-l...

journals.sagepub.com

🎙️ Hear from @daniel-semenza.bsky.social, director of research at the #NJGVRC, NEW Vlog/Blog on: The ripple effects of gun violence exposure — and how it impacts mental, physical, and behavioral health. 👂📖 ➡️ ow.ly/9GO750X0jZq What does “violence exposure” really mean? Take a moment to listen.

When it comes to dealing with illegal guns in the US, the Pareto Principle reminds us that the vast majority are supplied by a small number of bad dealers. So what can we do? Find out in my new @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social piece, out today in a brand new issue. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Vital City | The 80/20 Rule of Gun Supply

Why focusing on the small fraction of problem dealers offers the clearest path to reducing violence

vitalcitynyc.org

Honored to be named a top-10 finalist for the USERN Prize in Social Sciences for my work on gun violence prevention 🌍 If you have 2 minutes, I’d be grateful for your support: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 📄(Select Social Sciences → my name → give a “5” → submit)

USERN Prize 2025, Evaluation of Top 10 Candidates (Public Votes)

USERN has been established with the noble purpose of the expansion of science and elimination of borders that used to strictly divide knowledge into different majors and fields. In order to serve this...

docs.google.com

New paper out today led by @testaalex.bsky.social. We use all 5 waves of Add Health to show that early violent victimization is linked to long-term gaps in dental care. Violence early in life shapes our health trajectories for decades. 🦷 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Early Life Violent Victimisation and Dental Care Use From Adolescence Through Adulthood

Objectives This study examined the relationship between early-life violent victimisation and dental care utilisation patterns from adolescence to middle adulthood (ages 11–43). Methods Data were f...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

🚨New Research 📝 from #NJGVRC 📚 “Local Homicides Increase Suicide in U.S. Counties” Lead author: @daniel-semenza.bsky.social Co-PIs: @mikeanestis.bsky.social & Dr. Kimberly Burke Local homicide spikes linked to rising suicides—underscoring the toll of community violence. 📚 Read 🔗 ow.ly/xVmT50Wxo6O

🚨 Our GVRC FY26 RFP is now live! Up to $1M in funding across 3 tracks for gun violence prevention research. Faculty, postdocs, and students at U.S. universities are eligible. Due Sept 1. 📄 gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/FY26RFP 🔗 Apply: rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

New paper out today in Social Science & Medicine: Higher homicide rates → higher suicide rates the next year, especially with firearms. 50 years of U.S. county data + quasi experimental design. Biggest impacts in rural & White communities. 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Local homicides increase suicide in US counties

Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the United States, with rates rising over the past two decades. While research suggests an association bet…

sciencedirect.com

Really enjoyed being a guest on the No Jargon podcast w/ @scholars.org to talk about the recent declines in gun violence - and what we need to do to make sure that progress continues. Click below or check it out wherever you listen to podcasts.

Scholars Strategy Network@scholars.org · last yr.

Gun violence rates are down across the U.S. In our latest No Jargon podcast episode, @daniel-semenza.bsky.social explains what's working to keep these rates down and what we stand to lose as federal support for violence prevention is rolled back. #GunPolicy 🎧 Listen. ⤵️ scholars.org/podcast/real...

Less ATF funding = fewer inspectors for firearm dealers = more risk for guns to get into the wrong hands. It's not rocket science. Trump's DOJ cuts to the ATF have nothing to do with keeping Americans safer or being tough on crime - it's pure politics. www.npr.org/2025/07/02/n...

Trump administration targets ATF, with plans to cut jobs and ease gun restrictions

DOGE staffers have been working on changes at the ATF that would roll back dozens of gun restrictions. The DOJ wants to downsize the agency — a move some fear will hinder criminal investigations.

npr.org

It's official: New Jersey lawmakers REJECTED a $1 million cut to the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and the budget approved by the state includes full funding for our center this year. Some welcome good news after so much bad. 🎉 🎉 🎉 www.thetrace.org/2025/07/new-...

Major Gun Violence Research Hub Escapes Crippling Funding Cuts

New Jersey lawmakers decided against slashing the state research center’s budget, a move that provides stability to the field amid shaky federal support.

thetrace.org

Doing a final recruitment push to work with teenagers in New Jersey and learn about their exposure to gun violence on and off social media. Total compensation is up to $200 - please share with your networks!

Spoke with @njspotlightnews.org about the massive funding cuts to violence intervention programs here in NJ and across the country. Gun violence is down, but the recent historic gains won't hold if we dismantle all of the systems that made them possible. www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/06/trum...

Violence intervention programs reel from Trump funding cuts | NJ Spotlight News

Some violence intervention programs, including in NJ, have had layoffs or ended services after grant funding was abruptly canceled.

njspotlightnews.org

It is HOT🔥And with the heat comes greater risk for violence, especially shootings in cities. I'll be talking about heat and gun violence TODAY at 6:40pm EST on The Weather Channel, including why violence rises with the temperature and most importantly, what we can do about it.

It's really important to share good news right now. According to the Real-Time Crime Index and @jeffasher.bsky.social, murders are down nearly 22% across the country. That's a big deal and we should continue fighting to keep progress going.

Crime in America spiked with the COVID-19 pandemic, then plummeted. Here are four reasons why. open.substack.com/pub/johnkrom...

Explaining the COVID Violence Spike and the Roaring Crime Decline

Four Reasons for the Historic Beginning to the 2020s

open.substack.com

If you're planning to submit an abstract to join us in Tempe this year, consider attending the webinar on 5/21 or office hours this spring to help develop your abstract!

Conference call for submissions: www.firearmresearchsociety.org/2025-call-fo... Pls share broadly! @meganranney.bsky.social @bulletptsproj.bsky.social @mikeanestis.bsky.social @uconnarms.bsky.social @drewmckevitt.bsky.social @lisageller.bsky.social @nickbwilson.bsky.social @bychipbrownlee.com

The systems that have made America safer are under attack. My new op-ed in @commondreams.org explains why we can’t stay quiet as the Trump admin rapidly dismantles much of our violence prevention + public safety infrastructure. We can't go backward. www.commondreams.org/opinion/trum...

America’s Safety Is Fragile; Trump Is Tearing Down the Systems That Protect It | Common Dreams

The systems that protect our lives and our communities were built through years of tireless effort. They can’t be allowed to collapse overnight.

commondreams.org

Erasure is in the DNA of this administration. This memorial was meant to serve as a permanent reminder to the ATF about who they are meant to protect every day. Now it's gone from an agency that has completely lost its way. www.npr.org/2025/05/04/n...

An exhibit honoring victims of gun violence is taken down at ATF headquarters

The Faces of Gun Violence exhibit at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters showed the portraits of 120 people killed in gun violence in the U.S.

npr.org

Thinking about devastating cuts to NSF: US gov-funded science has been the engine upon which most of the tech wealth was generated. But the oligarchs (currently hoarding much of that $) think it’s their own brilliance & not the accident of standing close to the scientific engine that made them rich.

Tiny silver lining to all the terrible cuts to funding and research for violence prevention and public safety: all of what is happening is an acute shock we can use to measure effects before and after. We can test the impact and understand in detail what we've lost. Evidence as we rebuild.

Community violence prevention has been decimated in just the last week by the Trump administration, particularly in places like Philly and throughout my home state of New Jersey in places like Camden, Trenton, Newark, and Patterson. A complete reversal of progress. www.thetrace.org/2025/05/viol...

Trump's Budget Cuts Reach the Front Lines of Philly's Fight to Reduce Shootings

The Trump administration is yanking funding from several Philadelphia organizations, despite their role in slowing bloodshed.

thetrace.org

My colleagues and I are following news of OJP grant cancellations. As is true more broadly, if you have a research project with a strong causal design that you need funding to complete, please send us a proposal! We will do our best to expedite time-sensitive requests.

Thanks so much to @thetrace.org and @fairrionam.bsky.social for lifting up our work on gun violence exposure and dental care. The more research we do, the more we find that gun violence exposure impacts almost every aspect of our health and well-being. www.thetrace.org/2025/04/gun-...

Gun Violence Linked to Surprising Side-Effect: Poor Dental Health

For decades, the effects of gun violence exposure on overall physical health has largely been overlooked, but a new study shows a startling link: In communities with the highest rates of gun violence,...

thetrace.org

Most U.S. adults have experienced gun violence—either in person or through the media. But Black and Hispanic communities face the heaviest burden. A new national study from @njgvrc.bsky.social shows just how widespread and gun violence exposure really is: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

In-person and media gun violence exposure in the United States: prevalence and disparities in a nationally representative, cross-sectional sample of adults

Knowledge remains limited about how people experience different types of exposure to gun violence. We analyzed the prevalence of in-person and media g…

sciencedirect.com

Honestly, everything feels terrible right now. But one of the greatest things about America is its public library system. I've always found peace at the library. If you want to feel proud of something here, even for just 90 minutes, then this documentary is for you. www.pbs.org/independentl...

Free for All: The Public Library - Independent Lens

The story of how public libraries shaped America and how libraries continue to be a sanctuary for Americans everywhere.

pbs.org