3 November, 2017

Dear Representative Upton,

We are voters in your district. We are concerned with the thousands of injuries and deaths caused by gun violence every year and the paucity of research regarding ways to prevent these tragedies. While there are many actions that you and the other members of Congress should take, we are writing to you about the ban on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored research on gun violence. This ban was sponsored by the National Rifle Association in 1996.

Gun violence research conducted by non-biased organizations is critical to understanding this problem. While recent proposals to ban sales of automatic gun conversion kits may be backed by popular opinion, and may also offer the American public some protection from gun violence, this is a haphazard approach .

Effective policy must be based on rigorous, un-biased research. Health research on other issues such as auto related deaths, sponsored and conducted by the CDC, has had a positive impact on millions of Americans. We should utilize the expertise of the CDC to explore the ways in which we can decrease preventable gun deaths and injuries in the U.S.

This ban on CDC sponsored research must be reversed. In order to prevent preventable deaths from gun violence, we need to understand the factors that can prevent and decrease it. Please also consider what banning research sponsored by the CDC says about your respect and trust in science versus powerful political action groups like the National Rifle Association. Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,