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March 11th, 2016 
Awake Goy
Susanne Posel ,Chief Editor Occupy Corporatism | Media Spokesperson, HEALTH MAX Brands
Researchers from Boston University (BU) have published a study on the effectiveness of current gun laws in the US and their findings have caused quite a stir.
By analyzing gun-related deaths from all 50 states going back to 2010, and comparing that data with the gun laws of those states as of 2009, the team discovered that “out of the 25 existing state laws 9 were associated with lower rates of gun-related deaths.”
Universal background checks were associated with 39% reduction in gun-violence resulting in death; while background checks on ammunition lowered those deaths by 18%.
States where identification of the gun was required to, deaths fell by 16%.
Bindu Kalesan, assistant professor of medicine at BU, and his team determined that if universal background checks were implemented when purchasing firearms, and background checks were conducted when buying ammunition, gun-related deaths would drop by 90% in the US.
But there’ also a catch to these gun laws.
In the study, it was shown that certain laws were linked to an increase in deaths; such as bans on assault rifles and semiautomatic handguns resulted in a 15% rise in death rates.
However, in states like Massachusetts, where gun laws a strict, the death rate has fallen to 4 in every 100,000.
Critics of the study say that it’s just too hard to believe and therefore it must be false. David Hemenway, professor of health policy for Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health explained: “The entire literature on gun policy comes with inherent limitations due to the nature of the data.”
This is true. Statistical data is not comprehensive because the National Rifle Association (NRA) has lobbied for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be barred from collecting this type of data.
Nineteen years ago, Congressman Jay Dickey took his cue from the NRA when back in 1996, Dickey crafted language that stripped $2.6 million from the CDC that was spent on studying guns the prior year and appropriated the monies for other purposes.
The NRA was speaking out against the findings of a 1993 article discussing the correlation between gun ownership and the increased risk of homicide, saying that the CDC-funded study was an advocacy for gun control.
Because of the NRA’s objection, data on key points regarding gun violence have gone under-researched. For example:
- Psychological consequences of gun violence among injured and/or family members
- Identifying corollary victims of gun violence and subsequent consequences
- Influences of substance abuse on firearm homicide and suicide
- Cost of gun-related violence; including physical, mental and communal
- How effective current gun policies are
Since 1996, gun-related issues and subsequent legislation have been based on speculation and conjecture resulting in ill-informed arguments that have benefitted the NRA instead of serving the needs of the people.
According to a 5 year old report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), “membership in a terrorist organization does not prohibit a person from possessing firearms or explosives under current federal law.”
Thanks to gun laws influenced by the NRA, it is not illegal for people on the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) consolidated terrorist watch list (CTW) to buy a firearm from a gun store; including semiautomatic guns and/or assault rifles.
It is important to note that those on the CTW are under “reasonable suspicion” for having known or are a suspected terrorist.
The GAO discovered that between 2004 and 2014, 2,233 attempts to purchase guns by suspected terrorists from American gun dealers. And 91% of the time, the terrorists were successful; which translates to 2,043 guns.
To date there are an estimated 700,000 people on the CTW.
Some have tried to repair this loophole, but have been thwarted by the NRA every time.
In 2007, then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales influenced members of congress to introduce bill to stop terrorists from purchasing guns legally in the US. Gonzales was not successful.
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