“All violent crime was up in 2020, the year on which the CDC research focused,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “But the CDC, which is not a crime control agency, has an unhealthy fixation on trying to make guns the issue, turning the Second Amendment into a public health problem.
“The CDC report showing gun-related deaths is alarming,” he added, “but even more alarming is the return of the CDC under Joe Biden’s administration to its assumed role as a gun control advocacy agency. This is why gun owners support legislation to keep the CDC out of anything remotely connected to firearms policy.”
Gottlieb pointed to data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2020 showing an estimated 5.6 percent increase in violent crime over 2019. Aggravated assaults were up by 12.1 percent, and murder and non-negligent manslaughter were up by more than 29 percent, including crimes where guns were not involved. In any given year, he noted, more people are murdered with knives, blunt objects and even hands and feet than are killed with rifles of any kind, yet gun prohibitionists will use CDC data to push for bans on certain types of rifles.
“Maybe the real public health threat are people who commit violent crimes,” Gottlieb suggested. “We don’t see the CDC working on a cure for all the problems that contribute to the uptick in violent crime, such as demonizing and defunding police agencies, reducing police manpower, despair over the economy and rising inflation under Joe Biden, the emotional pressures of job loss and homelessness; all of these factors play into the dilemma. Spotlighting guns is not going to provide a solution, but only a scapegoat to advance a gun control agenda.
“It is no wonder more Americans are buying guns for personal and family protection,” he continued. “And just like clockwork, here comes the CDC with research focusing on guns that appears tailor-made for the gun prohibition lobby’s crusade to add even more restrictions on a constitutionally-protected right. At a time when violent crime is on the rise, we should not be considering new ways to disarm the public.”
“This year,” Gottlieb observed, “courageous, common-sense lawmakers in four states have adopted ‘Constitutional carry’ laws that will allow citizens to arm themselves against violent criminals without having to wait to obtain a concealed carry permit or license. We now have 25 of the 50 states with permitless carry laws, and we nearly had two more—Florida and Nebraska—so let this be a signal to the gun control crowd. People are willing to defend themselves and fight back, because they do not care to become a statistic in some future CDC report.”
The CDC report also noted a slight increase in firearm-related suicide, a subject Gottlieb is very familiar with. Four years ago, he championed a suicide prevention pilot project in Washington State, helping to secure funding for study and intervention, and enlisting the aid of gun shops, gun ranges and firearms instructors and experts.
“The firearms community has stepped up to the plate,” he said. “We’ve advocated for policies that work, and we fight to protect the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. Gun taxes, gun buy-backs and gun bans don’t work, haven’t worked and will continue not working. It’s time for a different approach.”
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms(www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States
