From: Sarah Thompson Subject: IS NRA SCARING OFF A GUN-SHY CDC? Date: 01 May 1996 18:37:11 -0600 >Subject: IS NRA SCARING OFF A GUN-SHY CDC? >X-URL: http://www.sltrib.com/96/may/01/twr/00143514.htm > >> IS NRA SCARING OFF A GUN-SHY CDC? >>=20 >> [Image] >> BY LORI MONTGOMERY [Image] >> KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE >> [Image] WASHINGTON -- The federal Centers for >> Disease Control (CDC) is retreating quietly from new >> research on gun-related injuries, now the >> second-leading cause of death among Americans between >> the ages of 10 and 24. >>=20 >> [Image] Some researchers believe the change is due >> to political pressure. The National Rifle Association >> (NRA) repeatedly has urged Congress to kill the CDC >> division responsible for gun research. >>=20 >> [Image] That division, the National Center for >> Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), has produced >> uniquely influential studies about the risks of gun >> ownership that some experts compare to early research >> linking smoking and cancer. >>=20 >> [Image] However, in its latest request for >> injury-research proposals, the CDC hardly mentions >> firearms. >>=20 >> [Image] In stark contrast to previous requests that >> specifically invited firearms-related research, the >> latest announcement encourages applicants to focus >> instead on ``social and economic factors that >> influence assaultive behavior.'' >>=20 >> [Image] Researchers say it is the first time in the >> 10-year history of the CDC's injury-prevention grant >> program that firearms appear to be explicitly >> excluded as a topic of inquiry. >>=20 >> [Image] The CDC ``hasn't put out an announcement >> that says we don't do guns anymore. But people inside >> and outside are smart enough to understand the >> politics here,'' said Daniel Webster, an assistant >> professor at Johns Hopkins University and a >> researcher in the school's Center for Gun Policy and >> Research. >>=20 >> [Image] ``It's a real shame that the one federal >> agency that has really led the way on this issue is >> now threatened,'' he said. >>=20 >> [Image] CDC officials say they are not abandoning >> gun research, which has consumed about $2.4 million a >> year since NCIPC was established as a separate >> division of the CDC in 1992. >>=20 >> [Image] They concede that the grant announcement >> published in January does not invite new work on >> firearms injuries. But as many as 15 gun-related >> projects are continuing, they say. And staffers at >> the injury-prevention center continue to compile >> statistics on fatal and nonfatal gun injuries, the >> most exhaustive such effort in the nation. >>=20 >> [Image] ``If I said we weren't trying to be more >> careful, I'd be lying,'' said James Mercy, acting >> director of NCIPC's Division of Violence Prevention. >>=20 >> [Image] But guns ``are still a priority for us,'' >> Mercy said. >>=20 >> [Image] Controversy about the CDC's research on gun >> injuries has been simmering for years, virtually >> since a 1985 report by the National Academy of >> Sciences declared injuries of all types the nation's >> No. 1 public-health problem. >>=20 >> [Image] In response, the CDC renewed its research >> into car crashes, drownings, falls, fires, >> poisonings, domestic violence -- and gun injuries, >> which are expected to surpass motor-vehicle accidents >> as the nation's leading cause of fatal injuries by >> 2001. >>=20 >> [Image] Those studies bear the imprimatur of the >> world's foremost authority on public health and >> therefore have had a substantial impact on popular >> notions about guns and gun violence, researchers say. >>=20 >> [Image] CDC studies have been influential on the >> risks associated with gun ownership, producing widely >> cited work such as studies showing that a gun in the >> home nearly triples the risk of homicide of a family >> member and increases the risk of suicide fivefold. >>=20 >> [Image] That work has aroused the ire of pro-gun >> activists, who accuse the CDC -- and the health >> community in general -- of displaying an ``overt >> anti-firearms bias.'' >>=20 >> [Image] The NRA argues that CDC studies often >> overstate the dangers of gun ownership. In the study >> mentioned, for example, the homicides were not >> necessarily committed with the gun kept in the >> victim's home, making the connection between the gun >> and the violence questionable. >>=20 >> [Image] ``The way the CDC approaches gun violence, >> violence is the disease and the germ is the gun. And >> we have a real problem with an agency looking at it >> in that light,'' said Heather Wingate, deputy >> director of the federal division of the NRA's >> Institute for Legislative Action. ``We don't think >> they should be in an area that we feel is more >> rightly covered by criminologists.'' >>=20 >> [Front Page] [| World/Nation ] [| Utah ] [| Sports ] >> [| Opinion ] [| Business ] [| Food ] >> [| Classified Ads ] [| Archives ] [| Links ] [| Help] >>=20 >> ------------------------------------------------------ >>=20 >> =A9 Copyright 1996, The Salt Lake Tribune >>=20 >> All material found on Utah OnLine is copyrighted The >> Salt Lake Tribune and associated news services. No >> material may be reproduced or reused without explicit >> permission from The Salt Lake Tribune. > >http://www.sltrib.com/96/may/01/twr/00143514.htm > Sarah Thompson, M.D. righter@aros.net The Righter PO Box 271231 Salt Lake City, UT 84127-1231 (801) 468-4637 - voice (801)966-7278 - fax Fight the telecommunications act! Abortion, homosexuals, lesbians, militias, terrorists, assault weapons, pornography, revolution, evolution, Constitution... You'll NEVER silence ME! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gavinsw@aros.net (Gavin Wallace) Subject: USSC Alert #43 6-May-96 Date: 06 May 1996 20:32:27 -0600 (MDT) >Utah Shooting Sports Council >1996 Utah Legislative Fax Alert #43 >Information Current as of 5:00 PM Monday, 6-May-1996 > >Utah Legislature Interim Committee Will Meet Wednesday, 15 May 1996 at 2:00 PM in Room 405 of Utah State Capitol to Consider Plan to Severely Limit Utah Concealed Firearms Carry Permit Holders in Schools, Churches and Many Other Public Areas and Buildings!! > >YOU and Every Utah Concealed Carry Permit Holder, Self Defense Instructor and All Other Interested Persons Need to Attend This Hearing and Show Your OPPOSITION to this Proposal that Could Render Your Utah Concealed Carry Permit WORTHLESS and INVALID in the Areas Listed Above! > >This proposal will be heard and studied in the Utah Legislature's House Transportation and Public Safety Interim Committee on Wednesday 15 May 1996 in Room 405 of the Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City. If this proposal is given a favorable recommendation by the Committee, it might well become law when the Utah Legislature meets again in January 1997. If this proposal becomes law, your hard-fought Utah Carry Permit would be invalid at schools, churches and many other public places. > >You MUST be there and bring your friends and associates. > Please dress and groom yourself neatly. The media will be covering this hearing! > >Call the members of the Interim Committee before the 15th and strongly urge them to OPPOSE any limitation of your Utah Concealed Firearms Permit and your right to have a firearm readily available for lawful self defense. Be polite in all communications with elected officials. > >Don Bush (801) 825-3210 >Gerry Adair (801) 773-2125 > (801) 773-1777 >Brian Allen (801) 942-7714 > (801) 246-1947 >Ron Bigelow (801) 968-4188 >Bud Bowman (801) 586-8174 >Marda Dillree (801) 451-2773 > (801) 560-4455 >Christine Fox (801) 768-9637 > (801) 768-9102 >Robert Killpack (801) 263-2980 >Peter Knudson (801) 723-2035 > (801) 723-6366 > (801) 479-8980 >Sue Lockman (801) 968-5203 >Joseph Murray (801) 393-7062 >Lowell Nelson (801) 756-7558 > (801) 756-2091 >Norm Nielson (801) 224-3020 > (801) 225-2569 >Michael Waddoups(801) 967-0225 > (801) 355-1136 >Neal Hendrickson(801) 969-8920 >Kurt Oscarson (801) 571-6708 > (801) 944-2935 >Daniel Tuttle (801) 250-6271 > (801) 569-6529 > > >Please Duplicate and Distribute this Information to as many Utah Firearms Owners as Possible! Thanks > Gavin Wallace(GavinSW@aros.net) The Utah Shooting Sports Council PO Box 711819 - Salt Lake City, Utah 84171-1819 Phone/Fax (801)575-USSC Internet E-Mail: USSCINFO@aol.com Internet Web Site: http://members.aol.com/USSCINFO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gavinsw@aros.net (Gavin Wallace) Subject: USSC Alert #45 14 May 1996 Date: 14 May 1996 22:58:20 -0600 (MDT) Utah Shooting Sports Council 1996 Utah Legislative Fax Alert #45 Information Current as of 5:00 PM Tuesday 14 May 1996 *************** R E M I N D E R ***************** Utah Legislature Interim Committee Will Meet Wednesday, 15 May 1996 at 2:00 PM in Room 405 of Utah State Capitol to Consider Plan to Severely Limit Utah Concealed Firearms Carry Permit Holders in Schools, Churches and Many Other Public Areas and Buildings!! YOU and Every Utah Concealed Carry Permit Holder, Self Defense Instructor and All Other Interested Persons Need to Attend This Hearing and Show Your OPPOSITION to this Proposal that Could Render Your Utah Concealed Carry Permit WORTHLESS and INVALID in the Areas Listed Above! This proposal will be heard and studied in the Utah Legislature's House Transportation and Public Safety Interim Committee on Wednesday 15 May 1996 in Room 405 of the Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City. If this proposal is given a favorable recommendation by the Committee, it might well become law when the Utah Legislature meets again in January 1997. If this proposal becomes law, your hard-fought Utah Carry Permit would be invalid at schools, churches and many other public places. You MUST be there and bring your friends and associates. Please dress and groom yourself neatly. The media will be covering this hearing! Gavin Wallace(GavinSW@aros.net) The Utah Shooting Sports Council PO Box 711819 - Salt Lake City, Utah 84171-1819 Phone/Fax (801)575-USSC Internet E-Mail: USSCINFO@aol.com Internet Web Site: http://members.aol.com/USSCINFO