Why Do I Not Trust This?

The George Mason University Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy is holding what a "Congressional Briefing" today in the Rayburn House Office Building on the topic of "Reducing Gun Violence" (sic).

Our upcoming Congressional Briefing, Reducing Gun Violence: Lessons from Research and Practice, will be held on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 and led by Dr. Christopher Koper, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society.

Briefing Summary: This event will feature several leading firearms experts from criminology, economics, and public health who will discuss the findings and policy implications of current research on gun violence patterns, illegal gun markets, and the effects of policies and practices to prevent gun violence. The briefing will also address needs and future directions for research that can inform efforts to address this costly problem.

 Maybe the reason I am so skeptical of the whole thing is because of their speakers. When you see the names Jens Ludwig, Garen Wintemute, and Daniel Webster of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, red flags appear immediately. Add to this a series of Tweets by the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) about the research being presented and you know that those red flags are justified.

Their agenda lists such presentations as Daniel Webster's "Firearm Seller Accountability Measures and the Diversion of Guns to Criminals" and Jens Ludwig's "Underground Gun Markets".

The Center presenting this is headed by Dr. Christopher Koper, formerly of U. Penn's Firearm and Injury Center, who lists among his current research a study being funded by the Joyce Foundation.

Need I say anything more?