HIP Commits to Research for Gun Safety in Latinx Communities

Everytown for Gun Safety launches National Listening Tour to Increase Data & Resources

In late 2022, Everytown for Gun Safety, in partnership with Hispanics in Philanthropy, launched a year-long listening tour to research gun violence, ownership and safety, and prevention policies and solutions affecting Latinx communities. Tour stops in Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, New Mexico, and Texas, will include participation from gun violence survivors and their families, community members, and local partner organizations. 

“Latinx communities experience gun violence at alarming rates, but it doesn't happen in a vacuum,” shared Ana Marie Argilagos, President and CEO of Hispanics in Philanthropy. “By funding research that starts at the center of our communities, we give the gun safety movement an opportunity to learn and elevate solutions that build power and inform policy that protects and impacts Latinxs.”

According to Everytown, “each year, more than 4,100 Latinx people die from gun violence in the United States—an average of 11 deaths every day.” And of that “burden of gun violence is also borne by Latinx children and teens, who are three times more likely to be killed by gun homicide than their white peers.” This data provides just a slice of what is necessary in order to reflect the varying impacts within Latinx communities accurately and to provide public health and policy solutions that prevent and protect communities from gun violence. 

“For far too long, our communities have borne some of the heaviest burdens of our gun violence crisis,” said José Alfaro, Director of Latinx Leadership and Community Engagement at Everytown for Gun Safety. “While this epidemic impacts the entire country, we know that Latinx communities are impacted in unique – and disproportionate – ways. We’re grateful for the support of Hispanics in Philanthropy as we connect with survivors and partners around the country to better understand the individualized solutions their communities need.”

Led by the country's largest gun violence prevention organization’s movement-building arm, this tour will enhance Latinx-specific programs that address the systemic inequities and generations of racial discrimination that have exacerbated this public health crisis in communities of color. The guided conversations will bring special attention to states with the largest number of police shootings in Latinx communities, along with the highest rates of gun homicides, Latinx gun suicide, and Latinx gun ownership.