WASHINGTON – Everytown for Gun Safety, the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization, today released the following statement applauding the introduction of legislation in Congress by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) that would appropriate $50,000,000 per year for five years to conduct or support gun violence research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 1996, Congress passed an NRA-backed budget rider that prevented the CDC from spending any funds to “advocate or promote gun control.” Since then, CDC funding for firearm injury prevention has fallen 97 percent. Today, firearms are the second leading cause of injury deaths in the U.S., killing 100 Americans every day.
STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:
“Gun violence now kills more Americans than auto accidents, but for decades the gun lobby has effectively blocked the federal government from researching this public health crisis. We’re grateful to Senator Markey and Congresswoman Maloney for introducing a bill to fund research into the both the causes of gun violence as well as life-saving solutions. It’s tragic and absurd that the federal government spends tens of millions of dollars researching car safety, but virtually nothing on research into gun safety.”
STATEMENT FROM DR. TIMOTHY FABIAN, A RECENTLY RETIRED TRAUMA SURGEON WITH THE ELVIS PRESLEY MEMORIAL TRAUMA CENTER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER IN MEMPHIS:
“Throughout my long career in trauma surgery, I’ve personally cared for thousands of gunshot victims and dedicated myself to gun violence prevention research. It’s time for lawmakers to acknowledge what doctors across the country already know: Gun violence is a public health crisis and it’s long past time we allow the Center for Disease Control to treat it that way.”
