Bill Text: TX SCR1 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declaring gun violence a public health crisis.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-15 - Referred to State Affairs [SCR1 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SCR1-Introduced.html

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88R4656 TBO-D
By: Blanco S.C.R. No. 1

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Gun violence has reached record levels across the
United States; and
WHEREAS, Data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention shows that incidents involving a firearm are the leading
cause of death for Americans from 1 to 18 years of age; 3,219 such
deaths occurred in 2020; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 49,000 Americans lost their lives to gun
violence in 2021, according to an analysis by the Johns Hopkins
Center for Gun Violence Solutions; between 2019 and 2021, homicides
involving guns increased by 45 percent, compared to just 6 percent
for other murders; the alarming spike parallels a surge in gun
purchases during the pandemic, including an increase in sales to
first-time owners; moreover, tens of thousands of individuals
suffered nonfatal but life-changing gun injuries; and
WHEREAS, In Texas, someone is killed with a gun every two
hours, and the state's rate of nonfatal gun injuries is 27 percent
higher than the national rate; guns make domestic violence
incidents far more likely to end in fatalities, and more than
60 percent of intimate partner homicides involve a firearm; and
WHEREAS, Firearms have vast potential to amplify violence,
and Texas has experienced some of the nation's worst mass shootings
in recent years; the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting
claimed 26 lives and left 20 people wounded; the next year, a
17-year-old student killed 10 and injured 13 at Santa Fe High
School; 2019 brought even more devastation, when a single month saw
both the massacre at an El Paso Walmart that left 23 dead and 25
wounded and the shooting spree in Midland-Odessa that resulted in 7
dead and 25 injured; in 2022, an 18-year-old gunman shot his
grandmother before attacking Robb Elementary School, where 21
perished and 17 suffered injury; and
WHEREAS, Survivors of gun violence may experience severe
long-term consequences, ranging from paralysis and other physical
disabilities to problems with memory, thinking, and emotions, as
well as chronic mental health conditions such as post-traumatic
stress disorder; even in the absence of physical injury, exposure
to such violence can have enduring negative effects on child health
and development, and the effects of firearm violence extend beyond
victims and their families; mass shooting incidents can affect the
sense of safety and security of entire communities and impact
everyday decisions; the National Center for PTSD estimates that
28 percent of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop the
condition, while about a third develop acute stress disorder;
incidents of mass violence have an enormous behavioral health
impact on most people, whether they are survivors, witnesses, or
exposed through mass media; moreover, active shooter drills in
schools, implemented widely in response to mass shootings, are
associated with increases in depression, stress, anxiety, and
physiological problems among students, their teachers, and their
parents; and
WHEREAS, From 2019 to 2021, rates of gun-related suicide rose
by 10 percent, even as suicides by other means decreased by about 8
percent; over 26,300 Americans died in suicides involving firearms
in 2021, a record high; research has shown that access to a gun in
the home increases the risk of suicide death by 300 percent; as the
most lethal method of suicide, firearms account for just 5 percent
of attempts, but more than half of all suicide deaths; the vast
majority of people who survive an attempted suicide do not try
again, but only about 10 percent of those who attempt suicide by
firearm live to get the help they need; and
WHEREAS, Contrary to some media narratives, a study from The
University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston concludes that
there is insufficient evidence to infer that gun violence is caused
by mental health issues; furthermore, research shows that adults
with mental illnesses experience violence at high rates, and they
are more likely to be victims, not perpetrators, of community
violence; and
WHEREAS, While the human toll of gun violence is the most
wrenching, the economic consequences are immense as well, reaching
$557 billion in an average year, comparable to 2.6 percent of
U.S. gross domestic product; gun violence imposes myriad burdens on
society, including work loss, medical and mental health care,
emergency transportation, police and criminal justice activities,
insurance claims processing, employer costs, and decreased quality
of life; and
WHEREAS, Gun violence is not inevitable, as shown by other
wealthy nations with gun homicide rates vastly lower than ours; the
United States has a deeply rooted culture of gun violence that has
not received the same sustained, data-driven attention and
government investment as other public health problems, including
motor vehicle accidents and HIV/AIDS; in addressing those threats,
scientific research informed a comprehensive public health
response that dramatically shifted their trajectory; and
WHEREAS, The size, complexity, and grave social and economic
consequences of the gun violence epidemic demand a similarly
comprehensive, science-based approach; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby declare gun violence a public health crisis.