U.S. Ban on Gun Research Continues Despite Deadly Shootings

[billh58]

2. Even the Right-Winger responsible for cutting the funding is backpeddling

From the same article:

The research freeze also continued over the objections of the politician it's named after, former U.S. Rep. Jay Dickey, a Republican from Arkansas. In 1998, what became known as the Dickey Amendment effectively blocked the CDC from conducting future research into gun violence.

But Dickey now thinks the nation shouldn't have to choose between reducing gun-violence injuries and safeguarding gun ownership. And he very publicly said so in a Dec. 1 letter to the House Democrats' task force on gun violence prevention.

"I took part in cutting off gun violence research dollars at the federal level because of what was considered a misapplication of the dollars by the CDC," Dickey wrote. "I have recently expressed my regrets that we didn't continue that research with the provision that nothing shall be done in this project to infringe the rights of gun ownership as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution in the Second Amendment."

Dickey believes research into the causes of gun violence can save lives just as collision research by highway officials has done. Their investigation didn't result in the elimination of automobiles, but led to the placement of concrete barriers that keep drivers from veering into oncoming traffic.

"In the same way, scientific research should help answer how we can best reduce gun violence," Dickey wrote. "Doing nothing is no longer an acceptable solution."