We need more gun research, now
A few months ago, officers responding to an incident on Goffe Street in New Haven found a 16year-old boy shot in the back. The boy’s injuries were not life-threatening, and I join those praying for his full recovery.
But while I am grateful that this story did not end in tragedy, it is shocking just how common gun violence has become across the nation.
The economic hardship, uncertainty and social disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic have led to a dramatic spike in gun violence over the past year. Last month alone, 438 people have been injured or killed nationwide in mass shootings — which include incidents involving four or more injuries or deaths. More recently, in the first half of this year, mass shootings were up 55 percent nationwide compared to 2020.
Yet even as our nation faces this ever-growing crisis of gun violence, legislators have struggled to enact meaningful reform. Disagreements over the causes of gun violence and the best prevention methods have led to bitter partisan gridlock and ultimately put our communities and the safety of our law enforcement officers at risk.
Part of the challenge legislators face is that even as we have plenty of evidence showing the dangers of guns, we still do not have sufficient data to suggest which gun violence prevention strategies, responses or interventions are the most effective.
In 1996, a Republican-controlled Congress effectively halted all federal funding for gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. This meant that for over 20 years, our public health agencies were unable to treat gun violence as the public health crisis that it is.
When I took the gavel as chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds these agencies in 2019, I set about to reverse this two-decade-long lapse in funding. Standing up for this critical issue, I secured $25 million for gun violence prevention research at the NIH and CDC in 2020.
For the first time in more than two decades, research into gun violence prevention resumed. And we provided a further $25 million in resources to the CDC and NIH in 2021 to get these gun violence prevention research projects off the ground.
In fact, one of the beneficiaries of this funding is right here in our community.
Caitlin Elsaesser at the University of Connecticut is currently working on a two-year research project studying ways to reduce firearm threats that are expressed through social media. I am proud that we were able to provide this vital funding and am eager to see the results of her research.
In January, I became chair of the full Appropriations Committee, while keeping my perch overseeing health spending.
I led hearings this spring with the CDC and NIH to assess the agencies’ progress and continuing needs. What we learned is that these agencies need robust federal funding to fulfill the promise of this vital research.
That is why, in the 2022 funding bills that passed the House in July, I increased the funding provided for gun violence research to $50 million. As the House’s funding bills await consideration in the Senate, I will continue working to preserve this provision in the legislation that goes to President Biden’s desk.
By helping to establish whether solutions such as gun-free zones, defensive gun-use practices, waiting periods or background checks are more or less effective in reducing gun violence, this critical funding will play a central role in informing better gun violence prevention policies and legislation.
We can all agree that gun violence is a problem in desperate need of a solution and that a rigorous, evidence-based approach is essential to preserving lives. By working together to provide meaningful research funding, I am hopeful that we can build healthier communities and make work safer for the law enforcement officers sworn to protect them.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro serves as chair of the House Appropriations Committee and the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. She represents Connecticut’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.