Follow the Data Podcast

75. The Pandemic’s Effect on Gun Violence

Episode Summary

As mayor of New York City, Mike Bloomberg started working on gun safety and co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns – a coalition that grew to 1,000 current and former mayors. And when he left City Hall, he created Everytown for Gun Safety alongside Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts by combining Mayors Against Illegal Guns with her army of volunteers and millions of other Americans committed to ending gun violence. Everytown is now the country’s most powerful grassroots advocacy group for common sense gun policies, and the counterweight to the gun lobby. As part of their effort to better understand and reduce gun violence in America, Everytown has a robust research arm that helps inform policymakers, advocates and experts working on the gun violence crisis. According to the team’s latest study, historic precedent suggests that economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic could contribute to a 20 to 30 percent increase in firearm suicides in the US this year. Everytown's Director of Research, Sarah Burd-Sharps, joined us to discuss how her team reports on new data, how we can be mindful of possible firearm suicides and prevent them from happening, and precautions that gun owners can take to prevent unintentional shootings during the pandemic.