Bill Text: CA AR52 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Resolution 52 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relative to National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Passed) 2016-05-27 - Read. Adopted. (Page 4957.). [AR52 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AR52-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: HR 52	AMENDED
	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.