GAO report finds funding for gun violence prevention research is a fraction of other public health investments
 

Washington (October 18, 2017) –  Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Brady Campaign, and public health advocates at the U.S. Capitol to release a new government report on the effectiveness of firearm storage awareness programs. The report, prepared by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), was the result of a request Senator Murray made in 2015 with the support of Senator Markey.
 
“If we want to stop this tragic scourge of gun violence, we need better information about what is causing it and what can be done to prevent it,” said Senator Markey. “We need to study gun violence like the public health crisis that it is. This new GAO report outlines how important it is to give the medical, scientific, and public health community the resources they need and support a federal research agenda into gun violence. I thank the Brady campaign for their leadership on this issue and look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make critical investments in protecting lives.”
 
“There is so much we can and absolutely should be doing to address gun violence—but as this report makes clear, one simple, critical step is to gain a better understanding of how to encourage the safe storage of guns,” said Senator Murray. “I’m hopeful that every Senator will take a close look at the findings in this nonpartisan report, and join Democrats, the Brady Campaign, and families nationwide in pushing for stronger investments in gun violence research.”
 
The report, “Personal Firearms: Programs that Promote Safe Storage and Research on their Effectiveness,” found that funding for gun violence prevention research is disproportionately low relative to health issues with comparable mortality rates. According to the report, government-funded research is 0.7 percent of that for sepsis, another important public health issue which has a comparable mortality rate, and the publication volume for studies on firearm-related deaths is about four percent of that for sepsis.
 
A copy of the full GAO report can be found HERE.
 

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