In the mid-2010s, as mass shootings set new records for lethality and turned the public’s attention toward the gun violence epidemic, people asked why won’t the federal government fund gun violence research? Twice as much federal money was being spent on hernias and ulcers. Gun violence took nearly 40,000 lives a year. The answer was political, reports The Trace. A 1996 measure pushed by the National Rifle Association had banned the use of taxpayer money for research into anything that could be seen as supportive of gun control. After mass shootings in Charleston, S.C., Orlando, and Las Vegas, Democrats in Congress tried to repeal the de facto ban, and each time it was blocked by Republicans.
After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Congress struck a bipartisan deal to begin allocating $25 million each year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for gun violence research. The surge of federal dollars was cheered by scientists, who quickly began making up for lost time. September marked four years since most of the first projects received grants. The Trace analyzed data to see how much funding has been doled out, how that money has been spent, and which institutions are getting the lion’s share. Federally funded studies have primarily focused on youth gun violence, firearm suicide prevention, and community violence intervention, including the systemic inequities and disparities that contribute to a higher burden for communities of color. After decades of minimal support, federal agencies have invested more than $137 million in gun violence research since 2020. The greatest number of studies are focused on gun violence among youth, suicide, and community gun violence. At least 23 studies have examined hospital-based violence intervention programs, which have been shown effective at halting cycles of violence and saving taxpayer money.
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