Amended in Assembly May 26, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

House Resolution No. 52

Introduced by Assembly Members Rendon and Gipson

May 17, 2016

House Resolution No. 52—Relative to National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

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
begin delete Legislature end delete begin insert Assembly end insert recognizes June 2, 2016, as National Gun
Violence Awareness Day; and be it further

Resolved, That the begin delete Legislature end delete begin insert Assembly end insert 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 begin delete Legislature end delete begin insert Assembly end insert 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 begin delete Legislature end delete begin insert Assembly end insert 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.