By: José Niño

One of the more misleading ways Gun Control Inc. has tried to reframe the civilian disarmament debate is by turning it into a question of public health.

Gun controllers have generally relied on the Centers for Disease (and Gun) Control and Prevention (CDC) to validate their anti-Second Amendment talking points.

Over the last year, gun controllers have used the rise in homicides and overall violent crime to manufacture a narrative that there is an “epidemic” of gun violence. Now, the anti-gunners have caught a second wind with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announcing that the CDC and the National Institutes of Health will be funding new research on firearms with the supposed aim of reducing gun violence.

In a piece titled, “After 25 Years in The Dark, The CDC Wants To Study The True Toll Of Guns In America”, NPR reported on this breakthrough, which could change the way gun policy is discussed at the federal government.

This is a significant move, considering Congress was able to end all research on firearms violence through the passage of the Dickey Amendment in 1996. Walensky says that will change under her watch.

It remains to be seen what Walensky’s plans will be in the long-term, but knowing how things work in DC these days, this could mark the beginning of a broad propaganda campaign against lawful gun ownership.

Efforts to get the CDC to “study” gun violence will result in what amounts to taxpayer-funded disinformation studies that are used to mislead the populace into supporting gun control.

The facts actually point to trends of increased gun ownership coinciding with declining rates of gun violence. According to Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute, declining crime rates were the new reality from 1993 to 2013. During this period, gun ownership per capita grew by 56 percent, while gun violence fell by 49 percent. This also marked a period during which gun ownership increased, and carry laws were relaxed, through policy measures such as Constitutional Carry.

Granted, crime has increased in 2020, but this could be largely attributed to the lax nature of policing that has taken place in numerous urban centers nationwide, thereby leading to a more empowered criminal class.

Nevertheless, Gun Control Inc, will work diligently to create a narrative that increased gun ownership is somehow causing the current rise in crime. They will appeal to so-called “research” from entities like CDC to justify their talking points.

Gun owners should not let the gun control crowd dictate the terms of this debate. Instead, they should demonstrate with resounding evidence that Gun Control Inc. and its allies are pushing both misleading figures and talking points. The forces of civilian disarmament cannot be allowed to continue pushing misleading information on the Second Amendment. There must be a forceful response to these campaigns that seek to sully the Second Amendment.

José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.