Want to stop gun violence? Start by repealing the little-known Dickey Amendment
It’s time to support Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in Repealing Amendment Prohibiting CDC From Studying Public Health Effects of Gun Violence. Ahem. Should we need to have this conversation? No. Really. But here we are again in this ridiculous situation of needing to state the obvious. Mother Jones reported on 2/21/18 that HHS Secretary Alex Azar clarified, stating that the CDC is not prohibited from researching, but that the Dickey Amendment does, in fact, prohibit the CDC from “doing advocacy work.”
The little known Dickey Act was crafted by R-AR in 1996 following – you guessed it! – another mass shooting. Further, Mother Jones states that this is not the first time Democrats and medical professionals have attempted to overturn this horrific Amendment, most recently efforts were thwarted by Republicans following the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting. (How are these people still in office?)
Even the Amendment’s author, Dickey, called for repeal of his own legislation in a 2015 letter to Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA, reportedly stating, “Doing nothing is no longer an acceptable solution.” (Ya think?) Yet, even he could not influence the incessant greed and bloo lust of the GOP to repeal the Dickey Amendment. It’s impossible, I believe, for the average person to wrap their head around this type of unethical, divisive decision-making process. Blood. For money. This is the type of situation we find when there is no integrity or passion for social just; only greed. Greed is just not a good motivator. And, while we all work for extrinsic rewards, this is way beyond the fray of normalcy.
The representatives who have chosen this path to perpetuating the mass killing in our country should be impeached. And tried in a court of law. Does conspiracy against the United States fit? If not, how’s about a catch-all charge like shitbaggery while masquerading as a public servant?
Would anyone out there be willing to contact their Congressional official and demand the Dickey Amendment be repealed so that the CDC can do their jobs? Thanks!
