Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR8 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R4974 BPG-D
2	2	By: Blanco S.C.R. No. 8
3	3
4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, Gun violence in America is the leading cause of
7	7	death among children and teens and the 13th leading cause of death
8	8	among all ages; and
9	9	WHEREAS, Each year, more than 39,000 people in the United
10	10	States die as a result of gun violence, or about 109 every day,
11	11	according to the Centers for Disease Control National Center for
12	12	Injury Prevention and Control; tens of thousands more suffer gun
13	13	injuries that are nonfatal but too often prove life-changing; and
14	14	WHEREAS, In Texas, someone is killed with a gun every three
15	15	hours, and guns are the state's third-leading cause of death for
16	16	children aged 1 to 17; guns make domestic violence incidents far
17	17	more likely to end in fatalities, and more than 60 percent of
18	18	intimate partner homicides involve a firearm; and
19	19	WHEREAS, Guns are a significant danger to Texans suffering
20	20	from suicidal ideation; 60 percent of all suicides involve
21	21	firearms, and the percentage is even higher for veterans who commit
22	22	suicide; tragically, attempts of suicide by firearm in this country
23	23	result in death 85 percent of the time, compared to just three
24	24	percent for other methods, such as drug overdose; the vast majority
25	25	of people who survive an attempted suicide do not try again; and
26	26	WHEREAS, Capable of inflicting serious or deadly injuries on
27	27	many people in a short time, firearms have vast potential to amplify
28	28	violence; the nation saw 418 mass shootings in 2019 alone,
29	29	resulting in the deaths of more than 460 people and injury to over
30	30	1,700; Texas has witnessed numerous such incidents in recent years,
31	31	including the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, which
32	32	claimed 26 lives and left 20 people wounded; the next year, a
33	33	17-year-old student killed 10 and injured 10 at Santa Fe High
34	34	School; 2019 brought even more devastation; in early August, a
35	35	gunman murdered 23 and wounded a further 23 at an El Paso Walmart,
36	36	and before the month was out, another shooter went on a rampage in
37	37	Midland-Odessa, murdering seven and injuring 25; and
38	38	WHEREAS, People who survive a firearm-related injury may
39	39	experience severe long-term consequences, ranging from paralysis
40	40	and other physical disabilities to problems with memory, thinking,
41	41	and emotions, as well as chronic mental health conditions such as
42	42	post-traumatic stress disorder; the effects of firearm violence
43	43	extend beyond victims and their families, and mass shooting
44	44	incidents can affect the sense of safety and security of entire
45	45	communities and impact everyday decisions; the National Center for
46	46	PTSD estimates that 28 percent of people who have witnessed a mass
47	47	shooting develop the illness, while about a third develop acute
48	48	stress disorder; incidents of mass violence have an enormous
49	49	behavioral health impact on most people, whether they are
50	50	survivors, witnesses, or exposed through mass media; moreover,
51	51	active shooter drills in schools, implemented widely in response to
52	52	mass shootings, are associated with increases in depression,
53	53	stress, anxiety, and physiological problems among students, their
54	54	teachers, and their parents; and
55	55	WHEREAS, The economic impact of firearm violence is
56	56	substantial as well; in 2015 alone, it cost the U.S. $229 billion;
57	57	gun violence imposes myriad burdens on society, including work
58	58	loss, medical and mental health care, emergency transportation,
59	59	police and criminal justice activities, insurance claims
60	60	processing, employer costs, and decreased quality of life; and
61	61	WHEREAS, Gun violence is not inevitable, as shown by other
62	62	wealthy nations with gun homicide rates vastly lower than ours; the
63	63	United States has a deeply rooted culture of gun violence that has
64	64	not received the same sustained, data-driven attention and
65	65	government investment as other public health problems, including
66	66	motor vehicle accidents and HIV/AIDS; in addressing those threats,
67	67	scientific research informed a comprehensive public health
68	68	response that dramatically shifted their trajectory; and
69	69	WHEREAS, The size, complexity, and grave social and economic
70	70	consequences of the gun violence epidemic demand a similarly
71	71	comprehensive, science-based approach; now, therefore, be it
72	72	RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
73	73	hereby declare gun violence a public health crisis.