WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy joined others Tuesday in calling for Congress to fund the Centers of Disease Control research about gun violence.
Blumenthal and Murphy added their voice to other legislators and national researchers who want the CDC to restore funding for nationwide studies which had been blocked since 1996.
The advocates said the lack of federal funding for gun violence research has almost entirely stopped gun violence research. They said the lack of comprehensive information leaves policymakers, health care practitioners, researchers, and others without scientific information about gun violence, and information on how to prevent future incidents. The ban on research was lifted by President Obama in 2013, but no money has appropriated in the federal budget for the CDC research. Obama proposed a series of executive actions on guns earlier this year.
Blumenthal and Murphy said the federal government can provide resources similar to the fights against cancer, HIV and other diseases.
The National Rifle Association has been in favor of the ban on research and funding since the early 1990s.
