Opinion By Larry Keane
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- In the aftermath of impeachment, and with Coronavirus apparently under control in the U.S., it appears mainstream media is out of things to talk about. There’s no other explanation for a recent article in USA Today titled, “Congress approved $25M in funding for gun safety research. Now what?”
This piece rehashes the tired, inaccurate argument made by gun control advocates that if the government only spent more time issuing papers on their pet policies, our communities would be safer. Of course, research on the criminal misuse of firearms isn’t prohibited – only funding politically-motivated projects. And the policies these groups call for would have no impact on crime or accidents with firearms. But that doesn’t stop the same small group of anti-gun researchers from publishing deeply biased “studies” in the pursuit of their political goals.
Root Causes
This piece also lumps together the, fortunately, declining trend of homicide by firearm, and the tragically increasing trend of suicides. These are two distinct problems that merit separate policy discussions and solutions. As suicides are about two-thirds of all firearms-related deaths, it is ridiculous to argue that targeting the guns themselves will solve the mental health crisis.
As we have said here numerous times, firearms and their law-abiding owners are not a public health issue. The criminal misuse of firearms must be addressed – and the fields of criminal justice and criminology are better suited than the public health arena to pursue solutions.
The article’s flaws don’t end there, however. The authors also attempt to draw a comparison between firearms-related deaths (homicides, suicides and accidents) and those due to car crashes. As we have said here before, it’s apples to oranges to compare deliberate actions with unintentional accidents.
Real Solutions
The firearms and ammunition industry knows that there is more work to be done to make our communities safer. We’ve proven that with our leadership in getting our FixNICS® program signed into law in Congress and 16 states, increasing the disqualifying background checks from 1.7 million to 5.3 million since 2012, a 241-percent increase. It is the firearms industry that leads with Project ChildSafe®, passing out 38 million free gun locks. We’ve partnered with the largest suicide prevention group in the country to provide gun ranges and retailers the resources to intervene before a moment of crisis. We’ve led on preventing straw purchases with our Don’t Lie for the Other GuyTM campaign.
And we know that increasing suicide trends is a major crisis in the U.S. today. We are working to reduce these tragedies through partnerships with groups like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Department of Veterans Affairs. We know the answer isn’t more government spending on ineffective proposals, but is in coming up with Real Solutions for safer communities.
About The National Shooting Sports Foundation
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 10,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. www.nssf.org
More wasted money. This is clearly waste, fraud and abuse. Gun crime is not a disease. But mental health is. This money would be better spent on families whose loved ones were murdered by illegal aliens- people who have no rights to be in America.
Every member of congress who works to deny Americans their rights as specified in the 2nd Amendment are guilty of violating their oath of office and should be removed with extreme prejudice.
But, with democrat-controlled states giving illegal alien invaders a driver’s license, the illegal invaders can vote, get welfare and buy guns.
Just as La Raza said “We are building an army of the immigrants. We will remove the whites from our land. From our Aztlan”.
…and you thought only the communist democrats were a pain on the rear….
“Congress approved $25M in funding for gun safety research. Now what?”
NOW, you will get:
1. The CDC has ALWAYS been a den of lies and deceit and always for hire.
2. The CDC will put out the lies the communist democrats demand.
3. The CDC has always been anti-gun, declaring under the rapist Bill Clinton, that guns are a disease.
The NSSF is only a Fudd gun supporter, and only then if you are a member (manufacturer, wholesaler/dealer), so consider the source and look at the anti-2nd Amendment proposals and laws they support. That being said, throwing money and manpower at a problem (real or imagined) doesn’t always work for a number of reasons, especially sequential restraints. Example: No matter how much money you allocate to it and no matter how many people are assigned to the project; it still takes a woman 9 months to deliver a mature healthy baby. Congress, the Senate and all the bureaucrats of the… Read more »
JPM: The NSSF appears Fuddish. Seems it is more dedicated to the rights of those who can afford to spend more than those who cannot.
“More Funding Isn’t Always The Answer To Policy Problems In America”.
Change that to “More Funding Is ALMOST NEVER The Answer To Any Problems In America”.
It only allows the politicians to buy more votes and increase their power.