The governors said they were upset at the lack of action from Washington and are looking to fill a void left by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been restricted in its ability to collect data to advocate for gun control.
“Those of us at the state and local level are taking matters into our hands to curb violence in our communities,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who took office in January, in a statement. “That’s why I’m proud to join my fellow governors in creating the nation’s first regional gun violence research consortium.”
The new research consortium will work across universes and government agencies across the states involved. The research will be compiled, along with existing data from institutional, federal and multistate sources, into a clearinghouse available for public review. Nearly three dozen scholars have agreed to participate.
