Obama Gun Proposals Praised by Scientists
President Barack Obama's proposals for tackling gun violence are drawing praise from scientists, who particularly support Obama's lifting of bans on federal gun research.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been barred from supporting research into gun violence since the 1990s, when Congress inserted language into budgetary legislation forbidding the agency from using money to "advocate or promote gun control." Because research into the causes of gun crime could potentially be used to do just that, the agency froze its gun violence research program. The National Institutes of Health has operated under similar restrictions since 2011.
Obama announced today (Jan. 16) that he would sign a presidential memorandum informing the CDC that the language in the budgetary bill does not legally prevent gun research. He also said he will push for an additional $10 million in CDC funding in 2014 earmarked for research on the causes of gun violence, including potential links with video games and media. The move won acclaim from researchers.
"I'm thrilled that it received such a high priority," said Jerome Kassirer, a professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine and a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Having an understanding of the best available scientific information on a topic is necessary for the best informed decision-making," said Michael Halpern, the program manager for scientific integrity at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit that advocates the use of scientific research in solving policy problems.
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