Biden admin’s ‘public health crisis’ on gun violence targeted by GOP lawmakers
House Republicans are pushing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to put a stop to any remaining gun control efforts within the Department of Health, citing concerns that these actions are in direct violation of federal law.
In a letter led by Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., a group of 15 House GOP lawmakers urged Kennedy to protect the Second Amendment from what they see as attacks by a partisan and weaponized Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Biden Administration. The lawmakers specifically called for the reversal of a Biden-era policy that labeled gun violence as a public health crisis.
The letter referenced the Dickey Amendment, a measure passed in a 1996 spending bill that banned federal funding from being used to advocate for gun control. While a 2018 spending bill allowed for CDC research into the causes of gun violence, the lawmakers argued that the Biden administration had overstepped its bounds by censoring self-defense statistics and using research funding to promote gun control.
The letter highlighted several initiatives by the Biden administration’s Health Department, including funding for studies on episodic crime reports, victim blaming, ties between lawful gun ownership and risk, and gun confiscation policies in states like Michigan and California. The lawmakers accused the administration of weaponizing research funding meant for medical procedures related to firearm injuries to push gun control.
In addition to calling for an end to any funding that violates the Dickey Amendment, the lawmakers requested the restoration of censored statistics on self-defense on the CDC website. They also called for new studies on topics such as the effects of gun-free zones, the lack of sound suppression technology, and media coverage practices concerning mass public shootings.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) for a response to the lawmakers’ concerns.
Elizabeth Elkind, a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, covered this story, providing insight into the lawmakers’ efforts to protect Second Amendment rights. Follow her on Twitter at @liz_elkind for the latest updates on this issue.
