Sponsors (2)
The bill creates a federally supported Board and funding stream to produce evidence and support community violence‑reduction programs, improving public-health responses to firearm violence while carrying modest federal cost and risks of politicized research and policy pressure that some view as encroaching on gun rights.
Researchers, public-health officials, and scientists gain a permanent federal board and dedicated research grants to study firearm-violence prevention, creating sustained capacity for evidence-based strategies.
Parents, families, and youth in communities gain new grants and public education funding to support local violence-reduction programs and awareness campaigns.
State and local governments, and policymakers receive annual reports and recommendations that increase transparency and provide timely evidence on which interventions and laws are effective.
Firearm owners and some advocacy groups could see Board-driven recommendations lead to new state or federal regulations they view as restrictions on firearm rights.
Researchers and governments may face politicization of research priorities if agency representatives and appointed experts reflect partisan views, undermining trust in the Board's work.
Researchers and health systems could see grant dollars concentrated through this Board, potentially shifting funds away from other research priorities despite prohibitions against reducing existing gun-violence research funds.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 22‑member Board at HHS to fund and conduct firearm‑violence research, run grants and public education, and publish annual findings and recommendations with authorized funding.
Introduced August 5, 2025 by Mark James Desaulnier · Last progress August 5, 2025
Creates a 22‑member Gun Safety Board inside the Department of Health and Human Services to fund and carry out original firearm‑violence‑reduction research and public education. The Board must be set up within one year, start a grant program and research activities within two years, publish annual reports with policy and funding recommendations, and receive multi‑year federal funding with safeguards against cutting existing federal gun‑violence research funds.