The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) restored information regarding studies of the use of firearms for self-defense on its website, reversing a move made during the Biden administration.
CDC took down information about the studies during the Biden administration after a lobbying campaign by anti-Second Amendment groups backed by Democratic Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, according to emailsobtained by The Reload. The restoration of the studies to the CDC site prompted criticism from anti-Second Amendment advocates. (RELATED: Trump Admin Tells Congress ‘No Reliable Evidence’ Exists Showing Gun Microstamping Works)
“It is the politically motivated laundering of disinformation that has become a hallmark of the Trump administration’s approach to all scientific inquiry, and gun violence is no exception,” Devin Hughes of GVPedia told The Trace, an outlet supported by anti-Second Amendment billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Estimates of defensive gun use vary depending on the questions asked, populations studied, timeframe, and other factors related to study design,” the CDC said on its website, while linking to a report summarizing surveys regarding defensive gun use. “The report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence indicates a range of 60,000 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses each year.”
In 1996, Congress prohibited the CDC from underwriting advocacy for gun control following studies that claimed guns in the home were more likely to kill people in the home than to be used for self-defense. Pro-Second Amendment groups cited bias against firearms by some of the researchers.
“My own view on gun control is simple,” Deborah Prothrow-Stith, a public health professor at Harvard in the 1990s, wrote according to Reason magazine. “I hate guns and cannot imagine why anybody would want to own one. If I had my way, guns for sport would be registered, and all other guns would be banned.”
CDC also came under fire for its efforts to promote censorship during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, America First Legal (AFL) released documents showing the CDC working with Twitter, Facebook and Google to “censor free speech and promote Biden administration propaganda,” the group said. (RELATED: Semiautomatic Firearms Selling Like Hotcakes As Gun Owners Try To Beat Clock On Dems’ Licensing Scheme)
The CDC allegedly sent Twitter a chart showing posts that allegedly had misinformation and held “Be On the LookOut” meetings with the social media company to discuss what the government agency claimed was “misinformation.” The CDC also sent Twitter some recommended language involving the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), according to the documents.
Facebook and the CDC also coordinated to address alleged misinformation, with the CDC reportedly sending links to the social media giant to posts that contained what the government agency called misinformation. Facebook also reportedly gave the CDC $15 million in advertising credits.
Google and the CDC also worked together, with the technology company agreeing to boost the CDC’s vaccine page. The companies also coordinated fact-checking to address “misinformation” about vaccines and “infodemiology.”
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