If Holmes weren't accused of killing a dozen people and wounding 58, we'd never know that he received $21,600 for living costs while he pursued his doctorate in neuroscience. Nor was there anything odd about how the university paid for the stipend. The money came from an annual grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health.
But if the National Institutes of Health had granted money to a researcher delving into the reasons for mass shootings, there might have been trouble. In an Orwellian use of power politics, the gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association has in many instances muzzled federal agencies' ability to fund basic research into gun violence.
"This is a deliberate effort to keep evidence from being collected," said Dr. Garen Wintemute, a UC Davis Medical School professor and one of the few researchers in the nation who focuses on guns and gun violence. "It is one more way to prevent policy reform. It's a brilliant strategy."
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