Bill Text: TX SCR8 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Declaring gun violence a public health crisis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to State Affairs [SCR8 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SCR8-Introduced.html
87R4974 BPG-D | ||
By: Blanco | S.C.R. No. 8 |
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WHEREAS, Gun violence in America is the leading cause of | ||
death among children and teens and the 13th leading cause of death | ||
among all ages; and | ||
WHEREAS, Each year, more than 39,000 people in the United | ||
States die as a result of gun violence, or about 109 every day, | ||
according to the Centers for Disease Control National Center for | ||
Injury Prevention and Control; tens of thousands more suffer gun | ||
injuries that are nonfatal but too often prove life-changing; and | ||
WHEREAS, In Texas, someone is killed with a gun every three | ||
hours, and guns are the state's third-leading cause of death for | ||
children aged 1 to 17; 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, Guns are a significant danger to Texans suffering | ||
from suicidal ideation; 60 percent of all suicides involve | ||
firearms, and the percentage is even higher for veterans who commit | ||
suicide; tragically, attempts of suicide by firearm in this country | ||
result in death 85 percent of the time, compared to just three | ||
percent for other methods, such as drug overdose; the vast majority | ||
of people who survive an attempted suicide do not try again; and | ||
WHEREAS, Capable of inflicting serious or deadly injuries on | ||
many people in a short time, firearms have vast potential to amplify | ||
violence; the nation saw 418 mass shootings in 2019 alone, | ||
resulting in the deaths of more than 460 people and injury to over | ||
1,700; Texas has witnessed numerous such incidents in recent years, | ||
including the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, which | ||
claimed 26 lives and left 20 people wounded; the next year, a | ||
17-year-old student killed 10 and injured 10 at Santa Fe High | ||
School; 2019 brought even more devastation; in early August, a | ||
gunman murdered 23 and wounded a further 23 at an El Paso Walmart, | ||
and before the month was out, another shooter went on a rampage in | ||
Midland-Odessa, murdering seven and injuring 25; and | ||
WHEREAS, People who survive a firearm-related injury 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; the effects of firearm violence | ||
extend beyond victims and their families, and 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 illness, 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, The economic impact of firearm violence is | ||
substantial as well; in 2015 alone, it cost the U.S. $229 billion; | ||
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 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby declare gun violence a public health crisis. |