California Assembly Bill AR52 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: HR 52AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Rendon and Gipson MAY 17, 2016 Relative to National Gun Violence Awareness Day. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST WHEREAS, Death and injury arising from firearm violence by suicide, homicide, and unintentional shootings constitute a tragic and substantial burden upon the citizens of the United States and public health in the United States; and WHEREAS, According to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States approximately 81,300 nonfatal injuries and 31,672 deaths involving guns occur every year. That is about 308 shootings and 86 deaths every day, with about 13 shootings and 4 deaths per hour; and WHEREAS, Between 2005 and 2015, 71 Americans were killed in terrorist attacks on United States soil, whereas 301,797 were killed by gun violence during the same period; and WHEREAS, Mass shootings draw widespread attention to firearm violence from the media, the public, and policymakers but account for less than 2 percent of the United States firearm-related deaths that occur each year; and WHEREAS, Patterns of injury and death from firearms differ according to factors including age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographic region, educational level, employment status, and social class; and WHEREAS, In order to be developmentally and culturally appropriate to relevant aspects of diversity, public policy and prevention strategies must attend to the different relative risks, occurrences, and contexts across groups; and WHEREAS, In 2015, at least 756 American children were killed by gunfire; and WHEREAS, Young African American males living in impoverished urban communities bear the greatest risk of homicide by firearms, with African Americans almost eight times as likely as Caucasians to be homicide victims; and WHEREAS, Women are disproportionately more likely to be the victims of firearm violence by an intimate partner as domestic violence assaults in which firearms are used 12 times more likely to result in death than domestic violence assaults in which firearms are not used; and WHEREAS, Firearms are the most frequent means of suicide among older adult Caucasian men and contribute to their very high suicide rate. Across the United States, suicides account for nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths; and WHEREAS, Gun homicide is the second leading cause of death among Asian American youth in California; and WHEREAS, 100,000 students carry a gun to school each day; and WHEREAS, African Americans die due to gun violence at a rate of 19.4 per 100,000, Hispanics at 5.3 per 100,000, and Caucasians at a rate of 2.5 per 100,000; and WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater public awareness of this serious issue and that more is done to increase public awareness at the local, state, and national levels; and WHEREAS, As with motor vehicles, toxic household products, tobacco, and other products with inherent risks whose harms to the public health have been significantly reduced, firearms pose inherent risks that have been identified and can be addressed through a public health approach; and WHEREAS, This resolution seeks to inspire a necessary discussion in our communities about resources to reduce gun violence and improve our state's programs in prevention, intervention, education, and outreach; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the  Legislature   Assembly  recognizes June 2, 2016, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day; and be it further Resolved, That the  Legislature   Assembly  commends the work of the Wear Orange Campaign, the American Psychological Association, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and other organizations working to raise awareness about gun violence across America; and be it further Resolved, That the  Legislature   Asse   mbly  encourages research, public health programs, and public policy to address the full breadth of firearm fatalities and injuries; and be it further Resolved, That the  Legislature   Assembly  encourages the further development and evaluation of policy interventions for firearm violence across the full life span of firearms, from design and manufacture to use; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to California's middle schools and hospitals.