Since 2013, Garen Wintemute, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of California, Davis, has spent over $1 million of his own money to study gun violence. Last month, Wintemute announced that he would use his own additional funds to develop a new gun violence research center in California.
Wintemute’s crusade for objective knowledge is a response to our government’s inability to promote scientific autonomy. In July, a congressional panel blocked efforts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study gun violence and gun-related deaths. In 2013 and 2014, the National Rifle Association (NRA) spent over $3 million on lobbying and an additional $1 million on campaign contributions.
The American people cannot develop an adequate stance on gun violence without proper knowledge. As is, our political system allows greed to hinder legislative progress.
It stands to reason that basic research must be conducted on the risks and benefits of gun ownership. Then, once the data is presented, politicians and other lobbyists may argue their case with facts.
In addition to gathering basic gun statistics, such as the prevalence of gun ownership, Wintemute has researched the efficacy of gun-control policies. His findings have supported both sides of the gun debate. While his research has shown the benefits of reducing gun access for those convicted of violent misdemeanors, it’s also proven that requiring background checks at gun shows would not be effective at reducing violence.
The automobile industry did not collapse when the CDC gathered data on vehicular and traffic deaths. Why can’t the CDC observe a phenomenon that kills almost as many people? Improvements are made every year to ensure additional safety behind the wheel. The introduction of the seat belt was once met with apprehension, but is now standard in every vehicle. If we were as receptive to firearm safety as we were to motor regulation, gun violence would not be an epidemic.
So much of our landmark legislation is based on scientific research. The lucrative radium market burgeoned at the turn of the century. The deadly chemical was advertised as a health additive. Just as cocaine was added in wine and soft drinks, radium was a supplement in chocolate, toothpaste, toys, cosmetics and most famously, clocks and watches.
In 1927, Charles Norris investigated the mysterious deaths of young immigrant women who painted radium dials in a New Jersey watch factory. These women would go on to develop anemia, ulcers, tumors and decaying bones. Norris exhumed the body of one woman whose bones were still glowing after five years. Norris’ findings proved the toxicity of radium and saved an entire generation of people from a slow and agonizing death, going to show the importance of research in understanding our world and preventing unnecessary death.
This issue is especially pertinent to students at Binghamton University as many go on to conduct newsworthy research. These students will become the next generation of researchers in the scientific community who have the opportunity to inspire social and political change. Those of us who are not in the laboratory must think critically and read the statistics and original findings of the study, not just the media or a lobbyists’ perversion of it.
“There is no Holy Grail, no final dispositive piece of truth that will make all this right,” Wintemute said. “Truth is not a destination. Truth is a direction.” No side in this debate wants to make our country less safe. Gun owners must embrace research to promote a dialogue that prioritizes safety. Before we change history, we must first change people’s minds.
Kristen DiPietra is a junior double-majoring in English and human development.