More than 100 medical, scientific and public health groups have signed a letter urging Congress to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the causes of gun violence once again.

CDC hasn't been permitted to research gun violence in 1996, when Congress—at the urging of the National Rifle Association—passed an amendment preventing it from engaging in any studies that would "advocate or promote gun control." To make sure the agency got the point, lawmakers also axed CDC funding for gun research.

As a result of the ban, an entire generation of researchers have been discouraged from studying gun violence, the letter states. They note that firearms is a "serious public health epidemic" in the U.S., killing an average of 91 Americans and injuring another 108 every day.

"Medical professionals and our communities work to address the devastating and long-lasting physical and emotional effects of gun violence on victims, their families and their friends, but are hampered by the insufficient body of evidence-based research to use to point communities toward proven gun violence prevention programs and policies," the letter states.

Among signatories are the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Medical Association, American Physiological Association, Association of American Universities and the public health advocacy group Doctors for America, which organized the effort.

"Federal research has addressed many of our nation's most pressing public health challenges and it is time do the same with gun violence," said Alice Chen, executive director of Doctors for America. "Congress must lift the barrier to research that has persisted for nearly 20 years and fund the work that we need to save lives and prevent future tragedies." http://bit.ly/20aHaE2

NRA had not responded to the letter as of Thursday morning.

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