Washington University is taking a stand on a highly contentious political issue: gun violence. On Tuesday, the University kicked off its public health initiative, which aims to understand and address the issue of gun-related violence in St. Louis and in the country as a whole.

On Tuesday, April 21, Washington University will be hosting the first of a year-long series of panels dealing with the issue of gun violence.

Washington University will soon kick off a year of events focused on using the University’s resources for the advancement of gun legislation and gun violence prevention and awareness, according to Risa Zwerling Wrighton, wife of the chancellor and academic advisor in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Of the recent debates about reducing gun violence in the wake the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., no measure has received more universal support than stricter controls for the purchase of weapons by the mentally ill, particularly through the creation of a national mental health registry. It’s pretty hard to argue against.