UMD Researchers Help Identify 5 Keys to Reducing Gun Violence by 2040
Two University of Maryland researchers co-authored a new report revealing five actions that experts deem “essential” to significantly reducing gun violence in the United States by the year 2040.
Joseph Richardson—co-director of UMD’s Prevent Gun Violence: Research, Empowerment, Strategies & Solutions (PROGRESS) Initiative and a professor of African-American studies, medical anthropology and epidemiology—and Sheena Erete, Associate Director of Research for the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM) and an associate professor in the College of Information, are among the 41 experts who jointly produced the report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Called “Toward a Safer World by 2040: The JAMA Summit Report on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms,” the report was borne out of a March 2025 meeting that included 60 thought leaders spanning multiple industries, including public health, criminology, sociology, history, engineering, law, community violence intervention, public policy, and more. The report shares summaries of the discussions that happened at that JAMA Summit on Firearm Violence—concerning topics such as innovations in safety technology and federal and state oversight, ethical considerations when working with communities, and more—as well as the experts’ shared vision for what they hope 2040 will look like.
“Our vision for 2040 is a country where firearm violence is substantially reduced and where all people and communities report feeling safe from firearm harms,” the authors write in the report. “This vision centers on practical balanced solutions toward mitigating firearm violence with an understanding that the U.S. is a country that includes constitutional protections for firearm ownership.”
To make this vision a reality, the authors stress the importance of taking five steps:
- Focus on communities and change fundamental structures that lead to firearm harms;
- Harness regulatory and technological opportunities responsibly;
- Change the narrative on the preventability of firearm harms;
- Take a whole-government and whole-society approach; and
- Spark a research revolution on preventing firearm harms.
Of those, Richardson sees particular potential in the use of today’s technological tools.
“A key takeaway which is often understudied is the use of technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), in gun violence research, and ensuring that AI is used ethically, equitably and responsibly for the safety of our communities,” he said.
Erete shares Richardson’s interest in further studying how we might harness technology to reduce harm, without potentially inflicting other kinds of harm on communities.
“I also believe that if we are to use, create, design, and build AI tools, they must be community-centered, not only supporting community efforts to reduce violence, but also helping to counter harmful narratives about who deserves to experience safety,” she said. “In this country, there is often a silent acceptance that some areas will experience more violence and that it’s somehow okay; however, if we are to address violence, we have to first address the structural factors that catalyze such violence, such as economic inequity, disinvestment, and institutional mistrust.”
Though the authors note in the report that “no single strategy will address all firearm harms” due to the various kinds of firearm violence that exist, and the wide variety of factors that contribute to them, they are hopeful that the five steps they worked together to identify will, indeed, create a safer world.
“Being part of a report that takes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach—bringing together people from every field to discuss how to reduce gun violence—was deeply meaningful to me and gives me hope that there is a shared commitment and vision to create safer communities for everyone by 2040,” said Erete.
Photo is by iStock
Published on Wed, Nov 12, 2025 - 3:52PM