For years, one of the federal obstacles that has most frustrated gun safety advocates is an old prohibition on gun violence research. Without robust data on the impact of guns, safety advocates say, policymakers are unable to respond effectively to the epidemic of gun violence plaguing the nation.
On Tuesday, President Obama issued an executive order that not only tackles that problem head on but also reforms and expands background checks on firearm sales and commits $500 million towards increasing mental health access. Most importantly, the order directs the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice to develop and increase research into gun safety technology.
Prior to this executive order, Congress had stymied effective gun violence research. In 1996, Arkansas Republican Jay Dickey (who has since reversed his position) added a rider to a budget bill that stripped the Centers for Disease Control of its funding for gun violence research. After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Obama ordered the CDC to begin researching gun violence prevention, but the agency still lacked funding and remained fearful of a backlash from Congress.
The research component of the new executive order bypasses the CDC by assigning those three federal departments the task of researching safety technology. These new technologies aim to minimize accidental discharges and trace lost or stolen guns.
After Obama's emotional speech on his executive orders, Republicans were quick to weigh in. "No matter what President Obama says, his word does not trump the Second Amendment," said Speaker Paul Ryan in a statement. "We will conduct vigilant oversight. His executive order will no doubt be challenged in the courts."
Though Congress seems poised to fight Obama on gun control, advocates applauded the move. But, without Congress pushing for the CDC to research the gun violence epidemic, Obama's order directing the three departments to research safety technologies can only go so far.
According to Ted Alcorn, the research director at Everytown-a nonprofit organization aimed at ending gun violence-researching gun violence is of life-and-death importance. "We won't identify and implement measures that put a true dent in our country's extraordinary rate of gun deaths," he told The American Prospect, "without broad, sustained investment in research."
