There is a new push to reduce the number of cases of gun violence in the state and across the country.
On Saturday, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro along with community leaders and health providers came together for a roundtable to discuss gun violence research.
Congresswoman DeLauro secured more than $25 million dollars in funding for gun violence prevention research from the Labor, Health, Human Services and Education House Appropriations Law.
This is the first time in nearly two decades that Congress has provided 12.5 million each for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control for research.
Representative DeLauro called for gun violence prevention research during one of her first hearings as the chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services.
Jeremy Stein is the executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence and was in attendance for the roundtable.
“It is important and crucial that we are funding solutions to end this public health crisis and this plague on the United States,” said Stein. “We need to make sure that our children and our families are protected especially in places like school, mosques and movie theaters.”
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Dr. Karl Minges is an assistant professor chair for health administration and policy for the University of New Haven.
“With the provision of these dollars, we’re finally going to be able to perhaps develop a public health surveillance mechanism through which we can get the disparate data services,” said Dr. Karl Minges. “It’s really important that it’s done that apolitical not ideological but a way that can help to prevent gun violence.”
