Posted November 20, 2015 9:24 pm by Comments

By Patriot Outdoor News

Dozens of House Democrats are pushing to end the federal ban on gun violence research.

In a Friday letter to Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the Democrats urged the two senior appropriators to remove the decades-old prohibition as part of a year-end government spending package.

Led by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the Democrats said the so-called Dickey Amendment — a long-standing provision that has effectively blocked federal research on gun violence — leaves lawmakers in the dark when it comes to crafting policies aimed at tackling the problem.

“We dedicate $240 million a year on traffic safety research, more than $233 million a year on food safety, and $331 million a year on the effects of tobacco, but almost nothing on firearms that kill 33,000 Americans annually,” the lawmakers wrote.

“The result is a lack of fundamental research on gun violence, gun safety, and what public policy measures will effectively stem the tide of gun deaths.”

The Democrats referenced a study, published by the New England Journal of Medicine, that drew a clear link between gun ownership and higher risks of homicide and suicide. It was published in 1993.

“[T]his cannot be our most recent publicly funded gun violence research,” they wrote.

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Source:: Patriot Outdoor News

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