ACTION: REPEAL THE BAN ON GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH

From Indivisible Oregon...

**CALL TO ACTION** 
Thursday, March 1, 2018 
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REPEAL THE BAN ON GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH
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#EndGunViolence
#BoycottNRA
#NeverAgain

Guns take the lives of roughly 30,000 Americans each year. Yet the Centers for Disease Control won’t research it as they research other leading causes of death. 

The CDC used to conduct research on gun violence -- but the results were damning to the gun sales industry. In 1993, a CDC study found firearms in the home increased the risk of homicide. The results were so unambiguous, the NRA claimed it was “anti-gun propaganda” and argued that federal funds shouldn’t support such work. Congress passed budget rider to prevent such “advocacy” in 1996, and CDC funding for firearm injury prevention has fallen 96 percent.

But times are changing. Support for gun violence prevention has been consistently gaining ground, including among gun-owners. Trump’s HHS Secretary recently said this research should be a “priority.” Even Jay Dickey, the former Congressman who sponsored the 1996 budget rider, wrote a public letter expressing regret and requesting Congress begin funding research.

Get on the phone and tell Congress it’s time to lift the ban. We need more than Walmart’s line of children’s bulletproof backpacks. We need science.

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**ACTION 1: CALL BOTH SENATORS and YOUR REPRESENTATIVE** 

SAMPLE SCRIPT for all except Walden:
“My name is [--] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling to ask that the [Senator/Representative] work to include a repeal of the Dickey amendment in the upcoming spending bill, so that research can begin again on gun violence prevention. Thank you.” 

SAMPLE SCRIPT for Walden:
“My name is [--] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon, [zip code]. I am calling to ask that the Congressman work to repeal the Dickey Amendment so that research can begin again on gun violence prevention. I understand that Mr. Walden is a strong Second Amendment supporter. But, so too is the late Congressman Jay Dickey, the original author of the amendment, and Chairman Bob Goodlatte -- both of whom called for revisiting this issue. Hopefully, science will help us identify common ground. Thank you.”

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**ACTION 2: SEND THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. 

Share this post with friends and family, especially in red states. Urge them to tell their representatives that Dickey amendment should be lifted so gun violence prevention can be restarted. We cannot waste another 22 years to find interventions that could have protected the public, especially our children. Congress has an opportunity this month to remove the ban from the spending bill.

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**PHONE NUMBERS** 

SENATOR MERKLEY 
Portland: (503) 326-3386, DC: (202) 224-3753
Salem: (503) 362-8102, Eugene: (541) 465-6750
Medford: (541) 608-9102, Bend: (541) 318-1298
Pendleton: (541) 278-1129 

SENATOR WYDEN 
Portland: (503) 326-7525, DC: (202) 224-5244
Salem: (503) 589-4555, Eugene: (541) 431-0229
Medford: (541) 858-5122, Bend: (541) 330-9142
La Grande: (541) 960-7691 

CONGRESSWOMAN SUZANNE BONAMICI [D1]
DC: (202) 225-0855, OR: (503) 469-6010 

CONGRESSMAN GREG WALDEN [D2]
DC (202) 225-6730, Medford: (541) 776-4646,
Bend (541) 389-4408, La Grande (541) 624-2400 

CONGRESSMAN EARL BLUMENAUER [D3]
DC: (202) 225-4811, OR: (503) 231-2300 

CONGRESSMAN PETER DEFAZIO [D4]
DC 202-225-6416, Eugene: (541) 465-6732, 
Roseburg: (541) 440-3523, Coos Bay (541) 269-2609 

CONGRESSMAN KURT SCHRADER [D5]
DC: (202) 225-5711, Salem (503) 588-9100, 
Oregon City (503) 557-1324