The Right Questions With the Right People – Firearm Injury & Death Research in Missouri

As a country we are overwhelmed with news about firearm injury and death.

As kindergarteners engage in armed intruder drills, community violence survivors tie stuffed animals to street poles as makeshift memorials. Articles about accidental shootings fill our newspapers but offer few solutions. Meanwhile, far from the headlines, the toll of firearm suicides quietly outnumbers any other form of gun death.

Given the gravity of the problem, you’d think that conducting extensive research around the issue would have become a top priority. But in 1996, a federal provision known as the Dickey Amendment was introduced in Congress, which prohibited the use of federal funds to “advocate or promote gun control." This led to a near-complete freeze on federal firearm-related research for more than 20 years. It wasn’t until 2018 that the rule was clarified enough to allow funding to restart.

“I think the average person would be surprised how little research has been done around firearms and their impact, particularly from the perspectives of firearm owners themselves,” said Megan Simmons, Senior Research Strategist at Missouri Foundation for Health.

In July 2020, in response to calls from Missouri stakeholders for data connected to firearm-related beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors within the state, MFH commissioned the Missouri Firearms Survey. After hearing from more than 1,000 Missouri adults, five reports examining different aspects of the data were created in partnership with the University of Michigan.

Click here to read the full article and Key Findings From the Missouri Firearms Survey Reports.