Gun-Control Advocates Fear Funding Cuts Could Weaken Their Influence
Everytown for Gun Safety, a prominent advocacy group, fears that potential cuts to research funding could weaken their influence on public opinion and policy regarding gun control. Gun-policy scholar Garen Wintemute shares these concerns, warning that reduced funding could hinder research bolstering gun-control arguments.
In 2019, Congress allocated $25 million to the CDC and NIH for firearm research. This funding likely supported anti-gun research, which often finds its way into mainstream news coverage. However, the Dickey Amendment of 1996 prohibits the CDC from using federal funds to advocate for gun control, only research.
Gun-control advocates, including Everytown, rely on this federal funding to frame firearms as a 'public-health crisis' rather than a constitutional right. The loss of such funding could force advocates to rely more on facts and less on fearmongering, potentially benefiting both the Second Amendment and honest policymaking. Former President Biden, during his time in office, created a White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to encourage state-level firearms restrictions.
Everytown for Gun Safety and gun-policy researchers worry that reduced research funding could weaken their influence on gun-control debates. While funding cuts could limit the framing of firearms as a public-health issue, it might also encourage more fact-based discussions and benefit honest policymaking.
