Media Contacts:
Arnice Cottom, APHA, 202-777-3913
Marianne Amoss, Bloomberg American Health Initiative, 443-600-0121
Washington, D.C., Sept. 20, 2019 – Members of the media are invited to watch the livestream of Policies That Work to Reduce Gun Violence, a forum that will highlight how evidence-based policy solutions can be used to address the nation’s epidemic of gun violence.
Co-hosted by the American Public Health Association and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the event will examine the scientific data behind gun violence prevention policies.
“It is no secret that Congress has so far refused to enact laws backed by the overwhelming majority of Americans related to gun violence, even in the wake of deadly tragedies,” said Joshua Sharfstein, MD, vice dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Nonetheless, pressure is building for a range of reforms that both protect constitutional rights and reduce unnecessary deaths.”
While more research is needed to fully address the U.S. epidemic of gun violence, implementing existing evidence-based interventions and policy solutions now can save lives and prevent harm.
“We hope that forums like this one will get the facts out in a way that informs our elected leaders and policymakers and enables them to hear the demands of the public to finally take aggressive actions to stop this preventable epidemic,” said APHA Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD.
WHEN: Monday, Sept. 23, 8 a.m. to noon ET
AGENDA
SPEAKER BIOS
LIVESTREAM
To attend the event in person in Washington, D.C., register online. The forum will be held at the Knight Studio at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave N.W.
To submit questions for panelists during the livestream, use the #GunPoliciesThatWork hashtag on Twitter.
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APHA champions the health of all people and all communities. We strengthen the public health profession. We speak out for public health issues and policies backed by science. We are the only organization that combines a nearly 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence federal policy to improve the public's health. Visit us at www.apha.org.
ABOUT THE BLOOMBERG AMERICAN HEALTH INITIATIVE
Through education, research, and practice, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative aims to impact five challenges to the nation’s health: addiction and overdose, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, risks to adolescent health, and violence. One part of the Initiative, the Bloomberg Fellows Program, offers full scholarships for MPH and DrPH degrees for individuals working on the front lines to advance health in the U.S. The Initiative was founded with a gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies in honor of the centennial of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Visit americanhealth.jhu.edu to learn more.