This is Scientific Americans 60 Second Science. I'm Steve Mursky. Got a minute?

CDC is afraid to fund firearms research.

David Hemenway, Professor of Health Policy to fund firearms research.

David Hemenway, Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

20 years ago, they were doing a tiny amount of funding for firearm research, $2.6 million a year, $2.6 million a year, total.

This was too much for the gun lobby and Republicans Congress and they attacked the CDC and now CDC does no funding of firearms research.

Zero.

Hemenway spoke February 17th about gun violence research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.

CDC is not expressly prohibited from funding

research, but they are correctly quite fearful because they know they would be brought up before Congress would be raided and their funding will be cut if they ever find fire

research.

Researchers, staff at the Centers for Disease Control are afraid to say the word guns or firearms at major

meetings.

And I've been for the last 20 years.

There's the director of the CDC or a major public

out agent so we've had mass shooting after mass shooting in the United States

and what has he said? And I don't blame him at all.

But what has he said about the mass shootings in the United States?

He has said not a single word.

And for good reason, because he knows if he says anything about guns, funding will be cut.

Thanks for the minute.

For Scientific American's 60 Second Science, I'm Steve Mursky.

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