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Rep. Jason Crow Helps Secure $25 Million in Gun Violence Prevention Research Funding

December 17, 2019

Federal research funding included for the first time in more than 20 years in government funding bill

Today, Rep. Jason Crow (CO-06) released the following statement after helping secure $25 million in gun violence prevention research funding(link is external) in this year's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. This funding will allow two public health agencies—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—to investigate the problem for the first time in more than 20 years. More than 36,000 people die from gun violence each year according to Giffords(link is external).

"From Columbine to STEM school, countless lives in our community have been ripped apart by gun violence and as a father of two young kids, I refuse to let this become the new normal," said Rep. Jason Crow. "In the Army, I learned that the first step in any operation is understanding the problem and with evidence-based research, we can better understand how to reduce suicide by firearms, the interrelation of domestic violence and gun violence, and the effects of safe gun storage. I came to Congress with the promise to fight for gun violence prevention and today, I'm proud to say, for the first time in a generation, we are taking action."

Since taking office, Crow has actively sought solutions to fight the gun violence epidemic in America, supporting numerous legislative measures and meeting with first responders and mental health officials to address the issue of gun violence. In August, Crow joined with Navy veteran and fellow freshmen member Rep. Sherrill to pen an op-ed calling for the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban(link is external). Crow helped introduce the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act which would repeal the liability shield protecting gun sellers and manufacturers, is a proud co-sponsor of H.R. 8, bipartisan background checks bill, and helped secure a $5 million federal funding increase for mental health services at schools.

Following the credible threat of a school shooting in Colorado in April where a young woman infatuated with the Columbine massacre was able to exploit a loophole to buy a shotgun, Crow introduced the Colorado Loophole Act, filed as the "Closing the Loophole on Interstate Firearm Sales Act," to close the loophole that allows purchasers to immediately obtain rifles and shotguns, but not handguns, when traveling out-of-state.