Ceasefire Oregon participates in Sen. Ron Wyden’s discussion about federal funding for gun violence research.
By Penny Okamoto, Executive Director of Ceasefire Oregon
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has been a champion for gun violence prevention for many years. Today, Senator Wyden convened a panel of public health officials, doctors and gun violence prevention advocates to discuss the need for federally funded gun violence research.
I was honored to participate and to sit next to Robert Yuille of Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership whose wife, Cindy Yuille, was fatally shot at the Clackamas Town Center shooting in 2012 and Robbie Parker, who 6-year-old daughter, Emilie, was fatally shot at Sandy Hook just 3 days after Cindy was killed.
Both men support Senator Wyden’s call for funding for the Center for Disease Control so we can determine the best ways to reduce gun violence.
America has made great progress on reducing domestic violence, car crash deaths and deaths from illnesses. This progress was made in part by researching car crashes, domestic violence and illnesses to determine the most effective ways to reduce injury and death.
We must do the same for gun violence.
Our thanks to Senator Wyden for leading the fight to secure funding for the CDC to investigate gun violence.