Texas Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue: Part IV

“The problem here, for the most part, isn’t faulty guns or insufficient training. It’s dangerous people using guns effectively. The best approach to violence prevention is to zero in on that small number of high-risk people who are using guns to harm themselves or other people, and look at what might be done to prevent them.” —Lois Beckett Following the murder of 26 Texans in the November 7, 2017 Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting, Texas Representatives Nevarez and Collier pushed for the state to address gun violence as a public health issue. The shooting occurred not even five weeks after the Las Vegas tragedy which injured 567 and killed 59 individuals. This fourth and final part of the TI series on gun violence as a public health issue will offer a template for interventions grounded in the public health approach, long used to deal with violence, which is a major contributor of causes of death, disease and disability. The model is wholly grounded in science and is appli