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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 19, 2018 04:56 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lawrence M. Farnese, Jr. and Sen. Vincent J. Hughes |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Resolution urging Congress to repeal the “Dickey Amendment” |
| In the near future, I plan on introducing a resolution urging Congress to repeal the “Dickey Amendment.” Since 1996, the Center for Disease Control has been prohibited from using federal funds appropriated to the agency for research relating to gun violence. A rider to the 1996 budget by then- Representative Jay Dickey of Arkansas effectively prevents the CDC from being able to use public funds to research the root causes of gun violence. In recent years, former-Representative Dickey has publicly expressed regret that the amendment has been interpreted to prohibit all research on gun violence. Gun violence is a public health crisis that is plaguing communities across Pennsylvania. Gun violence is not a new threat to our communities but for far too long it has not gotten the attention is requires. It is long past time for the Federal and State Governments to fund research and approaches that can identify the root causes of gun violence. In 2016, Pennsylvania exceeded the national rate of deaths by firearm per 100,000 people. Unfortunately, this is not the first year Pennsylvania’s rate exceeded the national average. Every two days, three Pennsylvanians are killed by a firearm. More alarming, in 2010, the Commonwealth had the fifth highest rate of firearms related deaths among children. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, of the 1,217 firearm related injuries that occurred in Pennsylvania in 2014, almost half of those injuries were to persons under 25 years old. It is time for us to take steps to uncover the causes of gun related violence through academic research and scientific evidence. Please join me in echoing the sentiments of former-Representative Dickey by supporting this resolution and urging our congressional delegation to support repealing the Dickey Amendment. |
Introduced as SR291