More than half a dozen governors — most of them Northeastern Democrats — announced plans to launch an “unprecedented” multistate consortium that will study gun violence as a public health issue, Politico reports. The governors said they were unhappy about the lack of action from Washington. “Those of us at the state and local level are taking matters into our hands to curb violence in our communities,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “That’s why I’m proud to join my fellow governors in creating the nation’s first regional gun violence research consortium.” The new research consortium will work across universes and government agencies across the states involved. The research will be compiled, along with existing data from institutional, federal and multistate sources, into a clearinghouse available for public review.
Nearly three dozen scholars have agreed to participate. Murphy and three others governors — Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and Andrew Cuomo of New York — had already agreed to work together ongun violence. Their “States for Gun Safety“ coalition is sharing data on mental health, arrest warrants and orders of protection, with the goal of being consistent in preventing firearm purchases. The governors have also won the backing of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, along with Democratic Govs. John Carney of Delaware and Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico. The venture is aimed at filling a gap that’s existed since 1996, when federal law began limiting the CDC’s ability to study gun violence. Former President Obama directed the CDC to resume its research in 2013, but the work has remained limited. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the law limiting the CDC’s work on gun violence prevents it only from taking an advocacy position, not from doing research.