Log In


Reset Password
Opinion Editorial Cartoons Op-Ed Editorials Letters to the Editor

Rather than rehashing gun control arguments, first get facts

In the aftermath of the horrific killings in Orlando, Florida, arguments about gun violence flared up, with pundits and politicians calling for or denouncing various gun control proposals. It is a tiresome and seemingly endless cycle, made more so because there is so little information about what might actually work.

Before enacting or rejecting any of the measures suggested, Congress should repeal the 1996 law that essentially prohibits the Centers for Disease Control and prevention from investigating gun violence as a public health problem.

There are those who are loath to let the facts get in the way of a good argument, but most Americans would probably be interested in what any given action might accomplish. Getting a better handle on that could be expected to bolster some arguments and deflate others. And there is no way to know in advance how that would shake out.

After the Orlando shootings, talk turned to barring anyone on a terrorist watch list or a no-fly list from purchasing a gun. But those lists are notoriously faulty and, in any case, would not have weeded out the Orlando shooter.

Banning so-called assault weapons was tried for a while but accomplished little. In part because defining an assault weapon is almost impossible.

What would work to stem gun violence? Lots of people have ideas – from clearly impossible bans to unconstitutional targeting of ethnic or religious groups. But in truth, no one knows for sure.

As a society, however, we do know how to approach issues like this: as a public health problem. That is a systematic approach based on the scientific method. By definition that means it does not start from a preconceived notion about the answer.

It worked with cars. Car crash deaths are, per mile driven, down by two-thirds since 1975. And it was death that was targeted, not driving.

It worked with tobacco. Cigarette smoking has been cut in half.

Sure, people still die in car crashes and some still die from smoking – but in greatly reduced numbers. And the process begins with getting the facts.

Congress should put the CDC on the job.



Reader Comments