How a Republican who blocked gun violence research came to regret it

bnew · Jul 27, 2024

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/07/25/jay-dikkey-gun-violence-research/

How a Republican who blocked gun violence research came to regret it

Former Arkansas Republican Rep. Jay dikkey led an effort to bar research into gun violence at the federal level then had a change of heart.
Illustrations by Camila Kerwin for The Washington Post
By Camila Kerwin
July 25, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

On June 25, for the first time in U.S. history, the surgeon general declared gun violence a public health crisis. More than 48,000 people died from gun-related injuries in 2022, a near-record high. Guns have been the leading cause of death for children and adolescents ages 1 to 19 since 2020. Nobody is immune: Recently, a shooter attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump, who, in 2016, received over $30 million from the National Rifle Association in support of his campaign.

The story of the Arkansas Republican who led an effort to bar research into gun violence at the federal level — and his subsequent change of heart — offers a window into the forces that have shaped the country’s gun crisis.

Narration: On Dec. 1 2015, former Republican Rep. Jay Dickey delivered an apology letter to Congress. Illustration: Jay Dickey typing letter at desk. Zoom in mini-panel of this section of the letter, highlighted: Back in 1998, I took part in cutting off gun violence research dollars at the federal level because of what was considered a misapplication of the dollars by the CDC. I have recently expressed my regrets that we didn't continue that research with the provision that nothing shall be done in this project to infringe the rights of gun ownership…

Narration: It all started about 20 years earlier, when a study on gun violence funded by the Centers for Disease Control concluded that guns kept in the home didn’t actually make people safer. Zoom-in of study excerpt: Rather than confer protection, guns kept in the home are associated with an increase in the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance. Narration: To the National Rifle Association, the findings smacked of anti-gun propaganda funded by American tax dollars. It doubled down on efforts to resist Clinton-era gun control policies. Illustration and quote from Wayne LaPierre, former CEO of the NRA: Honest people use a gun in this country to defend themselves from criminals the system will not control. Background: Image of the study from New England Journal of Medicine.

Narration: Dickey was a lifelong NRA member. He was determined to protect the Second Amendment. At a 1996 congressional hearing, he sparred with Mark Rosenberg, the physician who directed the CDC department that funded the study. Illustration of Dickey and Rosenberg arguing from the House floor. Dialogue: Dickey: “Can you stop violence? You can’t stop violence unless you stop people from committing it, can you? How can you stop violence by attacking the gun?” Rosenberg: “We’re not trying to attack the gun, sir. We’re trying to understand the problem”

Illustration: Close-up of Rosenberg at hearing. Dialogue, Rosenberg: “And absolutely yes, we can prevent violence. I think the way to do it is by first trying to understand it.” Narration: Dickey didn’t buy it. He authored an amendment onto the next year’s spending bill, barring the CDC from involvement in any study that could be used “to advocate or promote gun control.”

Narration: Rosenberg lost his job. Split-panel of box with office belongings above graph showing escalating gun violence from CDC Wonder. Narration: Over the next 20 years, the country would see a steady rise in gun violence, mass shootings and suicide. Without a path to research the root causes of gun-violence, America lost virtually any chance to develop meaningful solutions.

Narration: Over the years, the congressman from Arkansas would come to regret “Dickey’s Amendment,” as it was known. It was, gun safety advocates argue, a devastating barrier to finding ways to reduce gun violence. Illustration: Dickey, small-scale, standing amid newspaper headlines of mass shootings and rising gun deaths among kids.

Narration: Dickey developed an unexpected friendship with his former enemy, Rosenberg – a bond as unlikely as it was deep. Illustration: Rep. Dickey giving a tour of Congress to a class of children. Narration: They remained in touch for life. Photo Dickey and Rosenberg arm-in-arm.

Narration: It took a while for them to talk about guns. They never completely adopted the other’s views, but they agreed that federal funding for research had to be restored. Dickey’s 2015 apology letter was an acknowledgement of a problem he had come to recognize as untenable. Overhead imagined scene of Dickey typing up letter at desk, with mini-panel above highlighting section of letter: “Research could have been continued on gun violence without infringing on the rights of gun owners…”

Narration: Indeed, the very next day, two mass shooters killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. Dickey wrote in his letter: Mini-panel with quote superimposed on illustrations of the 14 people who died in the shooting: Doing nothing is no longer an acceptable solution.

$Narration: CDC funding for gun violence research resumed in 2020. The $25 million represents a tiny fraction of the agency’s annual budget. The Surgeon General recently declared gun violence a public health crisis for the first time in American history. Illustration of Surgeon General Murthy with quote: Firearm violence is a public health crisis. Our failure to address it is a moral crisis. Narration: And as the country witnessed last week, the public includes everyone. Mini-panel of two WaPo newspapers stacked on top of each other featuring headlines about the advisory and the attempted assassination: Trump injured in rally shooting; U.S. surgeon general declared firearm violence a public health crisis.$

The text of dikkey’s letter was obtained from the website of Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) The study “Gun Ownership as a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home” was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Editing by Renae Merle and Hannah Good. Design editing by Christine Ashack and Madison Walls. Copy editing by Brian Cleveland.

3rdWorld · Jul 27, 2024

These people feel nothing unless they're personally affected somehow.

The gun obsession in White America is not spoken about or studied at the PhD level because cacs have tried to normalize gun ownership and avoid the whole conversation because of a passage and amendment in the constitution.
The 2nd itself is stupid and outdated and doesn't take it consideration numerous modern day factors..

How a Republican who blocked gun violence research came to regret it

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