If the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was looking for ways to rebuild trust with the American public, it just squandered an opportunity to redeem itself.
A new bombshell report from firearms reporter Stephen Gutowski shows three gun control groups apparently have enormous pull over the embattled agency.
How so? They appear to have successfully lobbied the CDC to omit statistics mentioning instances of defensive gun use.
Gutowski notes in The Reload, “The Center For Disease Control (CDC) deleted a reference to a study it commissioned after a group of gun-control advocates complained it made passing new restrictions more difficult.”
He added, “The lobbying campaign spanned months and culminated with a private meeting between CDC officials and three advocates last summer, a collection of emails obtained by The Reload show. Introductions from the White House and Senator Dick Durbin’s (D., Ill.) office helped the advocates reach top officials at the agency after their initial attempt to reach out went unanswered. The advocates focused their complaints on the CDC’s description of its review of studies that estimated defensive gun uses (DGU) happen between 60,000 and 2.5 million times per year in the United States–attacking criminologist Gary Kleck’s work establishing the top end of the range.”
The most updated CDC definition of “defensive gun use” reads like this: “Although definitions of defensive gun use vary, it is generally defined as the use of a firearm to protect and defend oneself, family, other people, and/or property against crime or victimization. Estimates of defensive gun use vary depending on the questions asked, populations studied, timeframe, and other factors related to study design. Given the wide variability in estimates, additional research is necessary to understand defensive gun use prevalence, frequency, circumstances, and outcomes.”