"One lesson is that more research is needed on firearm markets and regulatory effect on those market; this is one consequence of the woeful lack of government funding for research on gun violence," wrote Cook, of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Lawmakers on Friday approved an expansion of background checks on firearm purchases.
He took to Twitter to argue that gun owners had an obligation to promote more stringent rules on firearm ownership.
There is of course, the view that any proposals on firearm regulation will be tarnished by a Republican-controlled House.
The best first step we can take is for Congress to support a comprehensive system for reporting on firearm injuries.
A return to the early 1990s, when Congress brought in background checks on firearm purchasers and imposed a 10-year federal ban on assault weapons, is unthinkable.
State governments across the country have imposed stricter background checks on firearm sales and bans on the sale of high-capacity magazines and military-style rifles.
The state boasts the most relaxed gun regulations the United States, which in turn has the fewest restrictions on firearm ownership in the developed world.
It has a special section of data on firearm homicides - and provides detailed information by size of population and compared to other crimes.
During his first campaign for the Senate, Al Gore was asked by The Nashville Banner in 1984 whether he could support "stiff controls" on firearm sales and ownership.
Ferguson is currently operating under a county-imposed state of emergency following Sunday's violence, but it is unclear whether this has any effect on firearm regulation.
