That's awesome! Glad to be in good company, the scene will never leave me haha.
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
At minimum, we must reckon honestly with whether our current interpretation of the Second Amendment promotes safety and equality, or whether it undermines both.
Equal rights under the Constitution require restraint, accountability, and consistency, not political rhetoric. If a constitutional right cannot be safely exercised without risking death at the hands of the state, we should ask whether it is functioning as a protection at all.
The killings of both legally armed men make clear that when the Second Amendment is conditional, selectively enforced, and overridden by fear, it fails the very people it claims to protect.
When lawful gun possession can be reframed as an inherent threat sufficient to justify killing someone, the Second Amendment ceases to protect life or liberty and instead becomes a rationale for escalation.
This should trouble everyone, regardless of political ideology or views on gun policy. A constitutional right that becomes a liability the moment it is exercised, particularly during encounters with law enforcement, is not being applied equally.
Like Castile, Pretti was legally licensed to carry a firearm. Like Castile, he did not brandish his weapon or threaten law enforcement. And like Castile, the mere presence of a lawful firearm was treated as justification for lethal force after the fact.
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...
🎙️ 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...
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)
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/...
🚨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...
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.
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...
Thanks Daniel, much appreciated!
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-...
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...
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...
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
Please share widely! @everytown.bsky.social @krisbrown.bradyunited.org @bradyunited.org @giffords.org @momsdemand.bsky.social @njgvrc.bsky.social @jhucgvs.bsky.social @ucdaviscvp.bsky.social @pcgvr.org @marchforourlives.bsky.social @thesavir.bsky.social @injurycenterco.bsky.social
A sincere thanks to @scholars.org for helping to get the word out. If you're looking to refine or place an op ed, SSN provides incredible support. You can learn more about their work and become a member on their website.
scholars.org
