Sponsors (2)
The bill creates a federally funded board and sustained grant program to produce and publish firearm-violence research and policy recommendations—improving prevention tools and evidence for policymakers—while adding recurring taxpayer costs, creating potential duplication and funding rigidities, and risking politicization of its recommendations.
Researchers, policymakers, and the public will get regular, publicly available, evidence-based findings and policy recommendations and receive new grant-funded research and public education on firearm violence, expanding scientific knowledge and prevention tools for communities affected by gun violence.
The bill establishes dedicated federal funding (initially $5M, then $25M per year) to provide sustained resources for firearm violence research and intervention grants.
A federally appointed board will assess state and federal laws to identify policies that reduce suicides, domestic violence, mass shootings, and other harms, supplying evidence that can guide state and federal policymaking.
Taxpayers will bear ongoing costs — roughly $25 million per year after the initial period — to fund the board and grant program.
Creating and staffing a 22-member federal board and earmarking a new grant stream risks duplicating existing agency research, adding administrative overhead, and reducing flexibility by prohibiting use of other federal gun-research funds.
Board-issued policy recommendations could be perceived as politicized, provoking legal or partisan challenges that hinder implementation and deepen polarization around gun policy.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a 22-member federal Gun Safety Board to fund and conduct firearm violence research, award grants, and publish annual findings and recommendations with specified funding levels.
Introduced August 5, 2025 by Mark James Desaulnier · Last progress August 5, 2025
Creates a 22-member federal Gun Safety Board inside the Department of Health and Human Services to fund and conduct original firearm violence research, run a grant program, and publish annual findings and policy recommendations. The Board must be established within one year and must set up the research and grant program within two years. Provides specified annual funding levels (small start-up amounts followed by larger ongoing funding), requires monthly meetings and regular reports on research priorities and the effectiveness of State and Federal laws, and prohibits using other federal gun violence research funds to implement the Act.