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A CALL FOR GUN SAFETY H.J.Res.40 In February 2017, the House and Senate passed the H.J.Res.40 bill (that President Donald Trump quietly signed), which revoked the Obama-era regulation. As stated on NBCNews.com: "President Barack Obama recommended the now-nullified regulation in a 2013 memo following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 20 first graders and six others dead. The measure sought to block some people with severe mental health problems from buying guns." "The first major gun legislation that our current president signed, under the cover of darkness, made it easier for mentally ill people to buy guns —a law from the Obama-era that's specifically targeting veterans in large part, that said, 'If you are deemed mentally ill enough that you can't handle your own money, then you can't buy a gun.' I think that makes sense…" says Jason. This particularly hits close to home since — Jason points out— veterans are most likely to commit suicide using a gun. "There's so many laws that I might disagree with, but I see the justification. I might disagree with it, but I get it. There's no version of that that's not just about money. That's money over lives and you can't tell me it's not." Former congressman Jay Dickey of Arkansas' Regret In an NPR interview with host Steve Inskeep on October 9, 2015, Jay Dickey admitted that the Dickey Amendment was a mistake. The transcription reads: "Since the 1990s, that provision has commonly stopped any gun studies because researchers don't want to risk losing federal money, and that is what Jay Dickey regrets. The Arkansas politician and owner of two shotguns says he just wanted the CDC to follow a simple rule," says Steve. "Don't let any of those dollars go to gun control advocacy," says Jay. The increase in mass shootings over the years continues to remind Jay how this amendment has failed our country. "I've gone back through it in my mind to say, what could we have done, and I know what we could've done. We could've kept the fund alive and just restricted the expenditure of dollars," says Jay. Steve replies, "It has created a strange situation, hasn't it? If you want to learn details about mass shootings, you can't really find good information." Jay responds, "Well, I think you're right. And the thing that really brought this to my mind was watching as the little barricades were set up between the interstate to stop head- on collisions. The highway industry spent money in their scientific research to figure out what could be done, assuming that they were going to allow cars to continue to be on our highways. Enormous reduction of head-on collisions has been caused just by that little 2-and-a-half, 3-foot fence. We could do the same in the gun industry," says Jay. Steve replies, "You're saying there might be some way to not interfere with anybody's right to own a gun, but regulate it in such a way that fewer people are killed by guns?" To which Jay responds, "That's correct. I can't tell you what that might be, but I know this. All this time that we have had, we would've found a solution, in my opinion. And I think it's a shame that we haven't," says Jay. To help get the Dickey Amendment repealed, sign the petition: www.change.org/p/u-s-house-of-representatives-let-the-cdc-conduct-research-on-gun-violence- end-the-dickey-amendment Also, contact your local representative and let them know that you wish to have the Dickey Amendment repealed: www.house.gov/representatives/find