I never thought that a group of people would be so adamantly against the funding of research that would ultimately be used to save lives, but leave it up to Republicans to be that group of people.
Gun violence remains one of the most controversial and detrimental issues in the United States. The Gun Violence Archive reports that in 2016 alone, there have been 373 mass shooting. In gun violence incidents at large, 14,475 people have died and 29,628 have been injured. Even with these alarmingly enormous numbers of people being affected, Republicans refuse to allow research to be conducted on gun violence. Why?
Well, to say the least, they care about their guns more than they care about potential gun violence victims.
There has been push (by primarily Democrats) for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to begin conducting research on the causes of gun violence and ways to prevent. Following the Sandy Hook mass shooting tragedy back in 2012, President Obama actually issued an executive order for the CDC to begin that research. The CDC refused though, all because Congress (with the National Rifle Association acting as the puppet master) forbade the CDC to spend money to promote or support gun control. This ban was first drafted by Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark.) in 1996. The ban was extended just last year following the Charleston mass shooting.
Now, Republicans nationwide refuse to support this essential research. They’d rather not risk even the slightest threat to their coveted 2nd amendment right than lift a ban on what would lead the saving of thousands and ultimately millions of lives. After thousands of innocent lives are taken due to guns each year, how can Republicans act like delving deeper into the issue is a bad thing? No, guns and gun violence may not be a “disease” per se, but the solutions the CDC would be able to come up with given the proper funding and support would be groundbreaking in curing our nation’s gun violence epidemic.
I don’t know about Republicans, but the 2nd amendment matters less to me than millions of lives of my fellow American citizens. And it’s time that we all come together to push for the proper and long overdue gun violence research.
