It looks as if Vermont has not joined a group of northeast states and Puerto Rico that according to CBS/AP recently  have announced they will join together to conduct research into gun violence. As of now participating states are Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Delaware. The goal is for academics and law enforcement officials to collect data in order to supply legislators with accurate information with which to formulate policies to reduce gun violence.

The new consortium announced Wednesday [4/25/18] will bring together researchers from the partnering states and territories […] They’ll analyze different types of gun violence and collect data in the hopes of gathering information policymakers can use to decrease gun violence.

Data on this issue is scarce because at the federal level, since 1996 the gun lobby successfully worked through Congress to prohibit the Centers for Disease Control from using any funds to study gun violence as a public health issue. This prohibition was altered in the latest budget, but left without funding, researchers are skeptical any serious changes are coming soon.

 In our neck of the woods you’ll notice that along with Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire have not joined the group. Live free and die New Hampshire sitting this out one may not be particularly surprising, and as for Maine, well you know Governor LePage.

However, Governor Scott’s absence is a little puzzling. As we all know, Scott made headlines by his generally well-received shift from opposing to supporting some limited gun control measures. Shortly after that change Scott was unanimously elected to serve as chair of the bipartisan Coalition of Northeastern Governors (CONEG). For those who may not know what CONEG does, there’s this from their website:  CONEG is a forum through which the Governors and their senior advisors keep abreast of national and regional policy and program initiatives important to the economic, environmental, energy and social well-being of the Northeast.  CONEG works with the governors and their staff and policy advisors to examine current and emerging regional issues, develop effective solutions, and undertake cooperative actions that benefit the individual state and the region.

Governor Scott often speaks about the desirability of state-to-state regional co-operation on environmental and healthcare issues. I wonder if sooner or later as head of CONEG he will have to come around to support the nation’s first consortium to conduct gun violence research and recommend policy changes. But for now Governor Scott seems to be keeping Vermont among the odd ones out.