Gun violence is a public health epidemic, one that is killing an
absurd and increasing number of people every year. Rather than tolerate
shooting after shooting -- ignoring the toll of mass shootings, suicide,
domestic violence, accidental deaths, interpersonal conflict, and more
--we've got to figure out the root causes and research ways to prevent
the next tragedy before it happens.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) researched gun violence in the 1980s and
1990s. These studies contributed to the creation of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. But the Dickey Amendment, first introduced in 1996 and supported by the gun lobby, started prohibiting any activities that “may be used to advocate or promote gun
control.” This language has been an
effective ban on gun violence research.
Last year, Congress finally clarified
that the CDC and NIH are ALLOWED to research gun violence, yet
without funding dedicated to this research, this clarification does
little. The House has now allocated $50 million in the budget for gun
safety, firearm injury, and mortality prevention research. We must demand the Senate act.
Nearly
40,000 Americans died from gun violence in 2018. There have been over
350 mass shootings in the U.S. in the past year -- nearly one per day --
and gun violence in all its forms collectively takes the lives of over
100 people per day.
The Senate must allow us to understand why, as the first step to ending this epidemic.
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