Despite renewed calls, funding for research on gun violence continues to stall

The names of the schools, churches, nightclubs and cities have become synonymous with some of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings. Columbine, Sandy Hook and Parkland; Sutherland Springs and AME Baptist Church; and Pulse and Vegas. A makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School, in Santa Fe, Texas, May 23, 2018. In the aftermath of each massacre, a familiar pattern takes hold: thoughts and prayers are offered, the candles at vigils burn out, and politicians promise action, with some making changes at the state level or proposing a new set of safety guidelines to help protect students from other students. What hasn’t followed any of the shootings, however, is federally-backed research into what may be causing the gun violence. The reason for it stems from a decades-old appropriations amendment that critics say has worked as a lingering and effective deterrent from any research being conducted. The federal government in 1996 banned the use of any funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from being "used to advocate or promote gun control." Back then, the National Rifle Association was widely reported to have lobbied for the inclusion of the amendment, which was written by and then named after then-Rep. Jay Dickey, a Republican from Arkansas. Rep. Jay Dickey of Arkansas in Feb. 1993. “What that did is it effectively had a chilling effect so the CDC did not study gun violence in any way,” said Robin Lloyd, the director […]

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