Fingers-in-their-ears GOP do not even want to know what’s going on with gun violence. Two years ago:
In the immediate aftermath of the massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee quietly rejected an amendment that would have allowed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the underlying causes of gun violence.
At the time John Boehner argued that by definition, use of guns does not fall under the purview of the Centers for Disease Control. The NRA stepped in because the CDC research does implicate the guns themselves in the public health issue of gun violence.
“The original concern from the National Rifle Association back in 1996, which Dr. Rivara mentioned, made that very implication,” says Zwillich. “The NRA complained to Congress that the CDC was using the results of its research to essentially advocate for gun control. They called it propaganda. And back at that time, Congress slashed the CDC’s funding by the exact amount that was used for gun-related public health research.”
Another prong for activism would be to lobby the repeal of the amendment, the funding of gun research, and the promulgation of sensible gun safety measures based on the research.