CDC Official Indicates Planting More Trees is a Way to Fight Gun Violence

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Debra Houry, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, suggests that planting more trees can reduce gun violence.

The Hill reports that Houry indicates “initiatives like restoring vacant lots by planting trees and grass have been shown to reduce firearm violence.”

WXOW quoted Houry describing her tree-planting approach as a “greening initiative.” She said, “We’ve also funded research around greening initiatives to where you can go in and make a vacant lot look better by planting grass and trees. That’s been shown to reduce firearm assaults by up to 29% in impoverished areas.”

Houry’s observations on gun violence come in response to a CDC study showing a rise in firearm homicides during 2020, which was the first year of the coronavirus pandemic and related coronavirus lockdowns.