I applaud The Tufts Daily Editorial Board for calling on the university to establish a Center for the Study of Gun Violence in its April 6 editorial, “Tufts should step up to fill the gun violence research gap.” The board raises excellent questions detailing our lack of understanding about gun ownership and our culture, as well as mental health and access to firearms, and how we can collectively work toward gun safety that can’t fall prey to the trappings of politics — by looking at data.
When we do that, we have access to irrefutable facts such as gun violence becoming the leading cause of death in children and teens age 1–19 in the U.S.; that 120 people are killed every day from gun violence in this country; that more than 80% of children who die by firearm suicide use a gun belonging to a family member. We also know there’s a lot we don’t know.
As a member of the local Medford group of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, I think our work to prevent gun violence would be greatly enriched by the research from Tufts. It could go a long way to strengthen not just the efforts we’re working toward in our own community but across the country.
Nicole Schuller
Cotting Street, Medford
