Gun Violence Researchers Race to Protect Data From Trump

[HAB911]

Around 11 am Pacific on January 20th, while newly-inaugurated President Trump finished a celebratory lunch in the Capitol Rotunda, Magdalena Cerdá noticed something different about the White House’s website: All of its references to climate change had disappeared. Cerdá is an epidemiologist at UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program, which focuses on another politicized region of science—gun violence. So she knew what that meant.

“It was a real call to action,” Cerdá says. With links to climate data vanishing, she worried the same thing could happen to gun violence data on websites belonging to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “I was on Amtrak between Berkeley and Sacramento,” she says. “So I sent an email to Garen Wintemute saying we needed to start downloading our data immediately.”



https://www.wired.com/2017/02/gun-violence-researchers-race-protect-data-trump/?mbid=nl_2717_p4&CNDID=30772003

[NeoPrius]

1. Troubling indeed

Personally I think it time to go with heavy restrictions on firearms. If we restrict gun ownership properly, then gun related crime will drop accordingly over time. We can debate the ownership of say hunting rifles and shotguns. I personally don't hunt but hunting is a big deal in certain areas of the country. Hunting is done by Democrats and the Republicants alike. There is no question that weapons of war should not be available for purchase by the general public. Handguns are open for debate as well. With less than lethal products such as tasers the argument is clear to me. I don't think our crime problem would be anywhere near the what it is today if the general public only had access to tasers and large unconcealable hunting rifles and shotguns although all firearms should be banned for the general public IMO.

[billh58]

2. Just like the rest of the right-wing

NRA/ILA apologists and Second Amendment absolutists, they will dispute clear evidence of our gun violence epidemic, and pretend that it doesn't exist. They will argue that more guns is the answer to our crime problems, and criminals killing other criminals is a good thing.

For those who worship guns, tiny hands and small minds are the norm.