Parkland Shootings Inspire Houston Philanthropists to Give $20 Million to Research Gun Violence

Houston philanthropists John and Laura Arnold are giving $20 million through their foundation to launch the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research, the couple announced today. The five-year research effort on gun-related violence will be overseen by the RAND Corporation, a think tank.

The new effort will focus on finding data-driven answers to what causes gun violence in the United States and uncover any patterns associated with such violence. The collaborative will disseminate its findings with the hope that lawmakers and others will use them to create policies to reduce gun violence that are based on fact.

“Gun violence is a deeply emotional issue, but arguing about the proper response will not solve the problem,” said Laura Arnold in a news release. “Our goal is to provide objective information to guide a rational, fact-based response to a national crisis.”

The couple and their team at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation started talking about the idea for the collaborative after the February 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla, said Jeremy Travis, executive vice president of the foundation’s criminal-justice program. Fourteen students and three staff members were fatally shot, and seventeen others were wounded that day.

“We started talking about what the foundation could do in light of the shootings, especially given the fact that the federal government has been largely silent on funding research into gun violence,” said Travis, who was president of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for 12 years and earlier in his career directed the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Justice’s research arm.

The collaborative will examine how guns are purchased and used, how youths are affected by their access to guns, the potential risks of having guns in the home, and what factors increase gun violence. The effort will also look at what types of gun-violence prevention programs work.

Seeking Other Donors

Travis told the Chronicle that the Arnolds and their team chose RAND to help administer the collaborative because of the organization’s expertise and reputation for high-quality research on the topic, including its Gun Policy in America research program.

In addition to the $20 million grant, the Arnold Foundation hopes to raise $30 million from other wealthy donors.

“John and Laura and the team will all be engaged in the effort to bring other funders to the table,” said Travis. “This is a time for philanthropy to step up, and our hope is others will see what John and Laura have done as being a call to action.”

The Arnolds are prolific, hands-on philanthropists, and their decade-old foundation is focused in part on promoting proven decision-making strategies for governments and nonprofits trying to solve social problems. It also backs charter schools and school governance; programs on public safety and the criminal-justice system; and projects on the nation’s health-care system.