Congressman Dan Goldman Fights to Address the Root Causes of Gun Violence, Invest in Communities Disproportionately Impacted
CONGRESSMAN DAN GOLDMAN FIGHTS TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF GUN VIOLENCE, INVEST IN COMMUNITIES DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED
The ‘Break the Cycle of Violence Act’ Would Provide Community Violence Intervention Grants to Urban Centers Impacted by Homicides and Gun Violence
Read the Bill Here
Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) in introducing the ‘Break the Cycle of Violence Act,’ which would provide federal grants for evidence-informed community violence intervention and prevention programs designed to interrupt cycles of violence. These federal grants to would be targeted towards communities that experience 20 or more homicides per year and have a homicide rate at least twice the national average, or communities that demonstrate a unique and compelling need for additional resources to address gun and group-related violence. Each grant awarded would be renewable over eight years and funds will be commensurate with the scope of the proposal and the demonstrated need.
“To end the gun violence epidemic we must both address the proliferation of firearms and the root causes of gun violence, which often include under-investment in our communities,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “People in underserved communities bear the brunt of the gun violence epidemic and often get the least amount of government support. Last week, I spoke with numerous New Yorkers impacted by gun violence and those whose loved ones had been killed – their most frequent request was for more resources that will stop the demand forguns. It is time to reverse the underinvestment in these communities by funding and implementing the solutions that have been proven to get at the heart of violence.”
The ‘Break the Cycle of Violence Act’ grants would be used to implement the following violence reduction initiatives:
- Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIP) that provide intensive counseling, peer support, case management, mediation, and social services to patients recovering from gunshot wounds and other violent injuries. Research has shown that violently injured patients are at high risk of retaliating with violence themselves and being revictimized by violence in the near future. Evaluations of HVIPs have found that patients who received HVIP services were less likely to be convicted of a violent crime and less likely to be subsequently reinjured by violence than patients who did not receive HVIP services.
- Evidence-based street outreach programs that treat gun violence as a communicable disease and work to interrupt its transmission among community members. These public health-centered initiatives use street outreach workers to build relationships with high-risk individuals in their communities and connect them with intensive counseling, mediation, peer support, and social services in order to reduce their risk of violence. Evaluations have found that these programs are associated with significant reductions in gun violence, with some sites reporting up to 70 percent reductions in homicides or assaults.
- Group violence intervention strategies, which are a form of problem-oriented policing that provides targeted social services and support to individuals at highest risk forinvolvement in community violence, and a process for community members to voice a clear demand for the violence to stop. This strategy also communicates that there will be swift accountability for those who continue to perpetrate violence. This approach coordinates law enforcement, service providers, and community engagement efforts to reduce violence among a small, identifiable segment of the population that is responsible for the vast majority of gun violence in most cities.
Research has shown that a combination of community-oriented intervention programs and commonsense violence prevention policies can cut gun violence rates in urban cities in half in as little as two years.
In our nation's urban centers, homicide rates are nearly 20 times the national average, which has a disproportionate impact on young people of color.
Congressman Dan Goldman is working to help communities across the United States address and overcome the gun violence epidemic.
In November, Congressman Goldman cosponsored the ‘Responsible Firearms Marketing Act,’ which would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study the dangers of unfair and deceptive marketing and advertising practices utilized by the gun industry.
Earlier this month, Goldman also signed on to the ‘Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act,’ which would place safeguards and limitations on the sale of ammunition over the internet and the ‘Default Proceed Sale Transparency Act’ to address the 'Charleston Loophole,’ which allows some gun sales to be completed without a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background check.
Congressman Goldman is a Vice Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and is Chair of the Dads Caucus Gun Violence Prevention Working Group.
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