EXPERTS ADVISORY

The University of Michigan has a number of experts who can address various aspects of President Obama’s executive order on measures to reduce gun violence and the overall issue of gun control. They are:

L. Rowell Huesmann, the Amos Tversky Collegiate Professor of Communications Studies and Psychology, is an expert on understanding the psychological foundations of aggressive behavior.

“President Obama has already taken significant action against gun violence both by promoting a public discourse on the topic and by directing NIH to fund research on gun violence,” said Huesmann, a researcher at the Institute for Social Research. “Some of this research, including research at Michigan’s ISR, is directed at understanding the psychological characteristics of those who use guns to commit violent acts. The enhanced background checks for gun purchases that the president is likely to order certainly can diminish the likelihood of gun violence particularly when the background checks incorporate the findings from such research.”

Contact: 734-764-8385, huesmann@umich.edu

Julian Davis Mortenson, professor of law, is a constitutional law scholar and former U.S. Supreme Court clerk who is well versed in matters of executive power, especially in relation to individual rights.

“It’s frivolous to argue that background checks violate the Second Amendment,” he said. “The Roberts Court’s most important gun rights case says explicitly, ‘Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill.’ Background checks are so obviously a reasonable way to effectuate those prohibitions that I can’t imagine a serious argument to the contrary.”

Contact: 734-763-5695, jdmorten@umich.edu

Kate Andrias, assistant professor of law, is a constitutional law and administrative law expert who previously served as an associate counsel to President Obama and chief of staff of the White House Counsel’s Office.

“As the administration recognizes, the president cannot bring about comprehensive gun safety reform without the cooperation of Congress. He can, however, use his executive authority to strengthen enforcement of existing legislation,” she said. “Working with the relevant federal agencies, like the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the president can improve implementation of existing laws. The actions announced by the White House appear do just that.”

Contact: 734-763-9697, kandrias@umich.edu

Marc Zimmerman is a professor of health behavior and health education in the School of Public Health and director of the Prevention Research Center of Michigan, which focuses on violence prevention and positive youth development, resiliency and empowerment. He conducts research on violence and delinquency among urban African-American adolescents, and on attitudes about gun violence among public health, medical and law professionals. He also directs the CDC-funded Youth Violence Prevention Center.

“Efforts to increase gun safety and regulations is sound policy if you are interested in public safety and protecting people from random gun violence,” he said. “These policies do not have to infringe on anyone’s rights any more than policies that protect people from hate speech, require a driver’s test to get a license to drive a car or require that people shovel their sidewalks after a snowfall. It’s a matter of public safety.”

Contact: 734-647-0224, marcz@umich.edu