LOVE it or loathe it, there is no denying that the (NRA) has been stunningly successful in its efforts to fight gun control. In the 1990s, it even managed to largely shut down US government research into gun violence as a public-health problem 鈥� an unbelievable situation that still stands today.
This is why President Obama鈥檚 is important and necessary (see 鈥�Obama to scientists: Tell us how to calm gun violence鈥�).
But it is only the first step. Deciding whether to fund the research will be down to .
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If the NRA succeeds in blocking this attempt to bring science to bear on America鈥檚 gun problem, it will be another demoralising example of the power of money over evidence-based politics.
The NRA presents itself as a civil rights group dedicated to upholding and defending the 鈥� the one about the right to 鈥渒eep and bear arms鈥�. The gun lobby interprets this as an inalienable individual right to own guns.
Although the NRA was founded on this platform, it is important to recognise that it has strong links to the firearms industry, which supplies it with .
Viewed from this perspective, the NRA鈥檚 strangling of research is utterly reprehensible. Imagine if a group associated with food manufacturers were able to curtail research on obesity, or if tobacco interests had nixed the science that tied smoking to lung cancer.
鈥淭he National Rifle Association鈥檚 strangling of research is utterly reprehensible鈥�
Hopefully we will now get some fresh answers on the best approaches to preventing gun violence. But if this knowledge is to be acted on, politicians and the public on both sides will need to abandon entrenched positions.
Liberal opponents of the gun lobby often assume that the answer lies in tougher restrictions on ownership 鈥� but that isn鈥檛 necessarily where the biggest gains could be made.
Advocates for gun rights must accept that public-health researchers aren鈥檛 the stooges of a sinister bureaucracy intent on seizing their guns. They are professionals trying to use the scientific method to save lives. They should be set free to do this work, and then listened to.
