Mark Small

Mitchell (will protect 2nd Amendment), Davidson (will not support any gun control policies), Brizzi (pro-2nd Amendment), Hullinger (protecting 2nd Amendment among most important issues), Hook (right to bear arms guaranteed by 2nd Amendment). 4/17

Epidemiological studies - NOT sorry if that is too pointy-headed and intellectual for some people, but epidemiology is a “branch of medicine ... deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health.” 5/17

Mechanism of death in a shooting usu easy to discern: dude got shot. Cause of death is > complex. In “2017, the most recent year for which complete data [are] available, 39,773 people died from gun-related injuries.” Pew Research Ctr. citing numbers from CDC. 6/17

Number of ppl shot by someone acting in self-defense? Number of ppl shot while they fought against government tyranny? Accidental shootings? We should know more, but we are prevented in that. 7/17

W/nearly 40K deaths/year related to a specific thing, we should expect health-related studies. In 2017 approximately sixty percent (60%) of gun deaths were suicides (23,854) Hey! There is a statistic!). Any such studies have been blocked, effectively, by the NRA. 8/17

Under the Dickey Amendment, CDC is prohibited from advocating or promoting gun control. Since 1996, even after Sandy Hook, CDC has not funded any studies on gun violence and prevention. 9/17

If ignorance is bliss, NRA wants us to be in Nirvana. The Tiahrt Amendments ban “trace data” collected by the ATF from release for use by cities, states, researchers, litigants, and members of the public. 10/17

If we could trace guns from source - via burglaries & thefts of guns, or from gun shows - to gun deaths, we might be able to address how to reduce numbers deaths. Lincoln said, “Let the People know the cats and the country will be safe.” 11/17