Vice President Kamala Harris is set to unveil the Biden administration's "Safer States Initiative", aimed at combating gun violence at the state level. The initiative encourages states to establish their own gun violence prevention offices, invest in prevention programs, support survivors, promote safe storage of firearms, and enact legislation for background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Faculty experts at George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on the new gun violence initiative as it relates to public health, psychological, and political issues. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact the GW Media Relations team at gwmedia
gwu [dot] edu (gwmedia[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Public Health
Adnan A. Hyder, senior associate dean for research and professor of global health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, chairs the GW Gun Violence Working Group. He can discuss the gun industry’s role in the rise in gun violence as well as speak to high level policies, global comparisons and related gun violence issues.
Nino Paichadze, assistant research professor of global health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, has more than a decade of academic and professional experience encompassing medicine and public health with a particular focus on research and training for better prevention of and response to chronic conditions and injuries. She can discuss issues related to the role of the gun industry in the rise of gun violence.
Elizabeth Choma, clinical assistant professor at the GW School of Nursing, is a pediatric nurse practitioner whose work focuses on firearm safety education in families. Specifically, she aims to teach families and the community to utilize the “Asking Saves Kids” Campaign and educate families about the dangers of unsafely stored firearms. Her latest work published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care discusses a community educational intervention approach to improve firearm safety behaviors in families.
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Carol Sigelman, professor of applied social psychology, is a developmental psychologist who can examine the mental and emotional impact such a traumatic event can have on children.
Politics
Todd Belt is the director of the Political Management Program at the GW Graduate School of Political Management. Belt is an expert on the presidency, campaigns and elections, mass media and politics, public opinion, and political humor. In addition to his expertise, Belt is co-author of four books and helps to run GW’s political poll, which recently shared new findings. He can discuss how the Biden administration has previously addressed the gun violence epidemic and how this new initiative compares.
Casey Burgat, Legislative Affairs Program Director and Assistant Professor at George Washington University. He is an expert in Congress and Judiciary sections, congressional capacity and reform. He has served as a Senior Governance Fellow and worked at the Congressional Research Service. Burgat also has experience in federal rulemaking, issues of congressional reform and staffing, federal budgeting, and federal advisory committees. He can discuss the role Congress plays in advancing the Safer States Initiative as well as the recent history of passed and proposed gun control legislation and analyze Capitol Hill’s response to this epidemic.
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