Bringing Research and Innovation into the Debate on Guns in Society
Housed in the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Bringing Research and Innovation into the Debate on Guns in Society (BRIDGS) brings social science approaches to the gun debate to forge a forum for those across the debate to engage, learn, and elevate.
Drawing on ASU’s charter of inclusivity, public values and community impact, BRIDGS imagines a different kind of space for the gun debate. This is a space that prioritizes listening to and learning from perspectives different from our own; enhancing our knowledge about the nuances of the gun debate including the complexities of gun laws, the interlocked consequences of gun violence, and the intricacies of guns themselves; and bringing rigorous and thoughtful data and evidence to understand where we are in the gun debate and where we might go next.
We invite you to get to know the BRIDGS community of scholars, learn about the kinds of research we do, and engage the conversation by listening to our podcast or dropping in on our events.
In the News
In this special episode of Guns Unpacked, co-hosts Jennifer Carlson and Alex Trimble Young cover the highlights (and lowlights) of their work at the BRIDGS Initiative in 2025.
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In today’s episode of Guns Unpacked, we welcome Dr. Michelle Phelps, a professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota.
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In today’s episode of Guns Unpacked, we welcome Dr. Gerald D. Higgenbotham, an assistant professor of public policy and psychology at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Dr. Higgenbotham examines contemporary cognitive policies and how they influence repressive history through racism and collective power.