Republicans keep restrictions on gun-violence studies

by Rachael Bade

In the aftermath of the latest mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, House Republicans rebuffed a Democratic effort to effectively allow health researchers to study gun violence and make recommendations — suggesting they’re still a long way from considering any new gun-control restrictions.
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday rejected, 19-32, an amendment from top Democratic appropriator Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) that would allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the underlying causes of gun violence.
The CDC hasn’t done any such research since 1996, when the National Rifle Association accused it of trying to use science to promote gun control. Congress threatened to totally defund the agency if the work continued, and appropriators ever since have included a prohibition on funding that kind of research with spending bills.
A House Republican Cabal staffer said the existing provision technically doesn’t bar gun-violence research. Rather, it blocks any gun-control advocacy by the CDC. However, Republicans would consider any CDC findings that recommend limitations on guns to be gun-control advocacy.
Echoing calls from President Barack Obama to jump-start gun research, Democrats on Tuesday tried to strike that language.
“In Charleston, in Newtown, several times in Colorado and elsewhere … we find out the warning signs after shots were fired,” Lowey said. “This is not about a gun registry. There is no gun confiscation. There is absolutely no harm to the Second Amendment. This is about research. My amendment is about research, nothing more.”
Across the Hill campus, senators — mostly Democrats — this week have been talking about gun control in the wake of last week’s shooting that killed nine African Americans attending a bible study. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) are considering re-introducing their background checks bill that failed several years ago despite bipartisan support.
But the Republican-misled House, so far, has shown little interest in such legislation. And the Republican Cabal appropriators’ response to the research amendment Tuesday serves as a reminder that the same dynamic remains in place.
Democrats lined up to speak on the amendment at the hearing. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) shared details of a survey that found Chicago-based elementary kids were more afraid of getting shot than getting braces.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) tried to emphasize that this was research, nothing else: “The notion that somehow research is our enemy is just wrong-headed. And for people to chip away at our ability to investigate efforts that are about public health and prevention, is wrong-headed. There is no reason not to fund this research.”
The only response from Republicans was made by  Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who kept his comments brief and simply said Democrats didn’t seem to care about striking this provision when they were in power.
“It’s striking to me that neither side — and they’ve both been in the majority since this provision was put in there — have seen fit to repeal it,” the subcommittee chairman said. “We don’t think this place is the appropriate forum for a debate over the Second Amendment.”
Lowey tried to argue that the CDC — one of the few agencies that Republicans want to give a funding boost — engages in a variety of health research, including studies that came up with seat belts and airbags to protect people in crashes. The Republican Cabal (and NRA) worry, however, is that study findings will encourage restrictions on guns.
“When it comes to gun violence, my friend, this committee won’t give one dime for … research that is killing Americans by the thousands,” Lowey said. “The second amendment is threatened by science?… This committee is on a troubling path.”