Yesterday, the New Jersey Senate Higher Education Committee held a hearing on S. 2830, a measure that would bring the same sort of slanted anti-gun “research” that tarnished the CDC’s reputation to the Garden State.
If passed, the measure would use tax dollars to fund a “firearms violence research center” at Rutgers University, the stated mission of which would be to investigate gun violence as a “public health issue.” The problems with this idea are manifold: First, New Jersey already has among the highest taxes in America. Secondly, how reliable could we expect any research that comes from one of the most liberal universities in one of the most gun-hating states to be?
But perhaps more important is the fact that we already know “firearms violence” isn’t a “PUBLIC health issue”—the vast majority of the public, regardless of their gun ownership status, is never involved in a firearm-related crime. Instead, as plenty of studies have already proven, the primary drivers of firearm homicides in the U.S. are gang- and drug-related.
Unfortunately, while that information could save New Jersey millions over the long run, we know the odds of them listening to us are basically nil.
