Subscribe now

Don’t muzzle research

The epidemic of gun-related violence in the United States is unique to this nation. The politics of this unfortunately overwhelm any real effort to fathom the causes. Pressure from the National Rifle Association and other gun lobby forces has prevented efforts to even study what measures might be effective.

The hypocrisy of the NRA in stating that they support real measures to control this violence rather than any gun control whatsoever is profound. They have aggressively blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in studying gun-related violence and even blocked funding of the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System, preventing it from including all states; it currently includes only 18 states.

The federal government should increase funding to permit a truly national registry, and also fund research focusing on reducing what is truly a public health problem: the epidemic of gun-related violence. This step at least ought to be politically achievable.

Bruce Becker, MD

Spokane

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email
editor@spokesman.com
Fax
(509) 459-3815
Phone
(509) 459-5430

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy