The governors of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware and Puerto Rico are announcing the nation's first regional gun violence research consortium.
The coalition of like-minded states aims to make progress on gun control policy where the federal government has faltered.
Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says Wednesday the coalition would like to understand the root causes of violence and determine "effective prevention strategies." He says Connecticut has reduced violent crime at a faster pace than any other state following the passage of gun legislation in 2013.
Scholars and law enforcement officials will collect data and analyze gun violence information to pass on to policymakers. The consortium fills the void left by the federal government's 1996 ban on the use of federal funds to study gun violence.
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