As the attached article points out, an annual appropriation rider sought by the NRA and first enacted in the 1990’s greatly impedes federal research efforts aimed at developing strategies to reduce gun violence. Of all the sorry aspects of our ludicrous gun politics, this one takes the cake. Due to the rider’s restrictions, policymakers currently have little objective hard data to inform what strategies might or might not be effective, and consequently, they are left to consider often radically different approaches largely in a vacuum.
The appropriation rider has received little scrutiny over the years, probably surviving due in part to its obscurity. Surely the time has come to shine the light of day on it. In today’s climate, it’s hard to imagine how anyone (including a halfway savvy NRA representative) could argue with a straight face for its continuation. Reportedly, even the original congressional sponsor of the rider came to regret it. The issues surrounding the causes and prevention of gun violence are complex. In the absence of credible research findings, however, the so-called debate over these issues will continue to default to the mainly fact-free assertions, tendentious political rhetoric, and outright demagoguery of ideologues on all sides and their partisan allies.
If there is any “low hanging fruit” to target in terms of a meaningful bipartisan first step toward addressing gun violence, eliminating this absurd appropriation rider undoubtedly qualifies.
For once we agree 100% on an issue! I am disgusted and appalled by Congressional stalling, obfuscation and sycophancy toward the sugar-daddy NRA. That sycophancy is precisely why eliminating this rider likely would have no effect: None of these Yahoos wants any objective data, because it would completely undermine their slavish loyalty to an organization bound to do anything to block even the most benign and reasonable gun “control.” I believe strongly that the current interpretation of the Second Amendment has been stretched so far beyond its original intent, thanks to the NRA and their Congressional shills, that we will be lucky to see anything pass. One can only hope that the mid-terms will toss out some of the bums, but we’d need a sea change to get anything done. I trust that the Parkland, FL, kids will keep up the pressure; I plan to support them in any way that I can.