With the growing amount of violence there has to be studies and reports, much like the article
“The Science of Gun Violence” by Russ Juskalian. Which highlights the study -or lack there of- of gun violence. Gun violence is an epidemic and a public health issue, that has started a call for studies of the violence. However there is an astounding lack of research. Due to two bills that had been passed, The Dickey amendment the Tiahrt amendment. those nearly stopped researching its tracks. Juskalian describes the way that research can help this public health issues with the help of David Hemenway the director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, using the CDCs steps to a science driven health approach. It goes, define the problems, identify the risks, then develop and test prevention strategies, finally insure wide spread adoption. Which is how vehicle deaths, baby poisonings, and carbon monoxide poisonings were all decreased. The conclusion to all this is that as people are injured. The government says that any research would support and advocate for gun control. However, Juskalian says that even with such an effect it would be better then leaving people with no idea of the odds that they’ll be faced with gun violence, or a clue as to how to prevent it. However to do such feats, there would need to be more funding. Current funding is spread thinly, hard to access, and rather hap-hazardous. Seeing as it’s a public health crisis and as those who had once advocated against it now advocates for it. Hopefully, more funding will become available for such research and studies.
To me, the most interesting idea of this piece is Juskalian’s point that other studies show a significant data on the enforcement strict gun policies in other countries. Like Switzerland and Israel, which had gun violence and suicide rates drop continuously every year since they were enforced.
I agree. In my views the types of solutions the author recommends are surprisingly easy to apply to such a crisis. For instance, the CDC’s steps to a science driven health approach could easily be applied to gun violence. In addition, the fact that similar gun violence studies were done with success gives hope for such in the US. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that such research would advocate for gun control.
Yet I would argue that it would help people safely own more guns. Overall, then, I believe that these studies are necessary to help the people and the government— an important point to make given that the government despises the idea of gun control and the studies.