Gun Violence Research Cannot Wait
Every single day, approximately one hundred lives are lost and hundred of people are injured in the United States due to gun violence. Three of the deadliest shootings in modern US history have happened in the last six months.
Despite this seemingly never-ending tragedy, there are currently significant restrictions on gun violence research, which prevents lawmakers from ever fully understanding why these tragedies occur. Without credible, scientific research we cannot identify risk and protective factors, nor can we develop prevention strategies. And the violence can continue.
The March for Science has recently asked Congress to repeal a number of amendments that have halted publicly funded gun violence research in an open letter written with the American Psychological Association and co-signed by 45 different science organizations. But we aren’t only asking Congress to take action — we are also asking you.
Why Gun Violence Research Has Been Halted
Since 1996, government research on gun violence has been at a standstill. That year, the NRA accused the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of promoting gun control, leading Congress to threaten to defund the CDC unless they ceased funding research on gun violence. This resulted in the Dickey Amendment, a charge led by Republican congressman Jay Dickey, which prohibited the use of federal dollars in the advocacy or promotion of gun control and has to be renewed every year in Congress. (Shortly before he died, Dickey actually had a change of heart and declared that science should trump politics in this case, but the amendment continues to be renewed.)
The Dickey Amendment isn’t the only way this research has been halted. The Tiahrt Amendment prevents the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from sharing its firearms-tracking database with anyone outside of law enforcement. Without this crucial monitoring information, researchers are left without a meaningful way to better understand the scope of this problem.
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, President Obama ordered U.S. health agencies to study gun violence. Last year, this program was not renewed. Researchers have spoken out about this critical important funding stream, but despite this no action has been taken.
Without reliable research on the topic of gun violence, we will never be able to fully understand its origins, implications and how to prevent it. This is not a partisan issue — this is a public health crisis. Research focusing on how to make us safest has been outlawed by people who have been bought by the gun lobby, demonstrating just how wholly unstable the relationships is between our government and science. After all, gun violence is a science issue.
This is not a partisan issue — this is a public health crisis.
The Front Lines
Gun violence impacts every community in the United States, but marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by this lack of action. Structural inequities that promote violence in vulnerable communities, from barred access to education, employment, housing, and health care, as well as the duplicitous segregation and bias that permeates our culture put communities of color at significantly higher risk to be impacted by gun violence. When Congress fails to take action, they are failing to prioritize the safety of these citizens and consciously choosing to turn away from their pain.
These issues of access to resources and vulnerability also impact the LGBT+ community and women, who continue to be put at great risk for as long as this inaction continues. These are the people who are on the front lines. These are the people who are most likely to be hurt by gun violence in our country.
Time To Act
Our open letter identifies a number of demands for Congress to take action to remove restrictions preventing government research that could help us better understand gun violence, including:
- Repeal the Dickey Amendment and provide dedicated funding to the CDC and NIH to research gun violence.
- Repeal the Tiahrt Amendment to allow the CDC and NIH access to data on gun sales and registrations.
- Provide funding for all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia to report gun violence statistics to the National Violent Death Reporting System.
We all must tell our Representatives that we need evidence-based policy to combat the gun violence epidemic — and that they need to fund the research we need to craft it. March for Science has created an easy-to-use form to help you identify your Representatives and personalize your message.
Beyond that, we need to follow the lead of the courageous youth leading the charge against gun violence, from Parkland to Chicago. This week students from across the country led a national school walkout, and another is scheduled for April 28. On March 24, they are taking to Washington, DC for the March For Our Lives.
These policies need support and funding to become a reality now. We urge you to join us in fighting to put victims, survivors, and their loved ones first by fighting for evidence-based policies to protect our communities from gun violence.
