Ban on “Gun Violence” Research Does not Exist

Ammoland ^ | 27 December, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Doctor Gun Banners

A recent headline at The Hill read "Dems push to end ban on gun violence research".  The only problem is that there is no ban on "gun violence" research.  There is a ban on spending federal dollars, by the Department of Health and Human Services, on research that advocates for more gun control.  It is called the Dickey Amendment, and was put in place after the leaders of the CDC proclaimed what they expected from research results (advocating for more gun control) before the research was conducted.  The CDC had already funded severely flawed, advocacy  "research" to advance gun control.  The Congress responded by cutting off their funding.   They did not cut off funding to other agencies that might be expected to research the effects of gun ownership; for example, the Department of Justice.  But The Hill headline gives the opposite impression.  The article gives the correct purpose of the ban, but with caveats, and only after quoting Democrats to “explain” what the ban “really” does.  From The Hill:

Led by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the Democrats said the so-called Dickey Amendment — a long-standing provision that has effectively blocked federal research on gun violence — leaves lawmakers in the dark when it comes to crafting policies aimed at tackling the problem.
“We dedicate $240 million a year on traffic safety research, more than $233 million a year on food safety, and $331 million a year on the effects of tobacco, but almost nothing on firearms that kill 33,000 Americans annually,” the lawmakers wrote.

Notice that Rep Jackie Speir deliberatively uses bad grammar to obfuscate the issue.  Guns do not kill people. 

[marktwain]

Guns do not kill people. People are killed with guns, or people use guns to kill people. It is an important distinction, one that the left is constantly trying to blur and obfuscate.

[Yo-Yo]

Just like there was never a ban on stem cell research. Only a ban on using Federal funds for stem cell research.

[Tupelo]

The Hill, a very good loyalist magazine believes that the only Federal paid for research is research.
Hell, most of the country now believes this.

[longtermmemmory]

when you travel abroad “the government should do...” is the mindset. There is ZERO self reliance.

[exDemMom]

Guns are not the problem. Violent people are. I believe that research into causes of violent behavior is on-going. So, what is the issue here?

[Spok]

Gun violence research will be as accurate as global warming research. The numbers will be manufactured and/or exaggerated and anyone who challenges them will be threatened and vilified. It’s what passes for science in a PC world.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

The Hill, a very good loyalist magazine believes that the only Federal paid for research is research. [Indeed], most of the country now believes this.

Just the sort of thing President Eisenhower was warning about in his famous “military-industrial comples” speech:

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite. - Eisenhower’s Farewell Address