Dear Lucas,
No one in Congress should ever put partisan politics ahead of life-saving policies. But recently, a Republican congressman said that Congress would "fund propaganda" if it let the CDC research gun violence.
To prevent another Sandy Hook or Newtown, we must understand the nature of gun violence. Yet the CDC's budget for gun violence prevention research is $0.
Last year, the same Republican congressman spoke out in favor of researching gun violence, saying, "Let's let the data lead rather than our political opinions." It seems that he – and other partisan Republicans with the NRA on speed dial – need a reminder of this.
We can curb gun violence, but only if the CDC has the tools it needs to understand it. This is urgent - we need to demand that Congress restore funding for gun violence prevention research right now!
Tell Congress: Restore funding for gun violence prevention research right now.
We can't wait for another mass shooting – it's time to understand and address gun violence in our communities. In 1996, Congress completely defunded any gun violence research from the CDC.
I'm leading the effort in the House to get this done by authoring a bill to restore this funding.
Congress needs to hear from us today that gun violence prevention research is about protecting our friends and families – not advancing partisan interests. On average, 88 people die because of gun violence every single day, and we have the opportunity to change that harrowing statistic.
By providing the CDC the resources it needs to research gun violence, we can truly save lives. Sign my petition to call on Congress right now to protect our communities by funding research on gun violence prevention.
Thank you for speaking up.
-Carolyn