117 SRES 651 IS: Expressing support for the designation of June 3, 2022, as “National Gun Violence Awareness Day” and June 2022 as “National Gun Violence Awareness Month”. U.S. Senate 2022-05-26 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

III117th CONGRESS2d SessionS. RES. 651IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESMay 26, 2022Mr. Durbin (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Reed, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Markey, Mr. Luján, and Ms. Baldwin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryRESOLUTIONExpressing support for the designation of June 3, 2022, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day and June 2022 as National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Whereas, each year in the United States, more than—(1)38,500 individuals are killed and 85,000 individuals are wounded by gunfire;(2)15,000 individuals are killed in homicides involving guns;(3)23,000 individuals die by suicide using a gun; and(4)490 individuals are killed in unintentional shootings;Whereas, since 1968, more people have died from guns in the United States than have died on the battlefields of all the wars in the history of the United States;Whereas 2021 was one of the deadliest years on record for the United States, with an estimated 20,700 people killed in gun homicides or nonsuicide-related shootings, a 6 percent increase over 2020;Whereas unintentional shooting deaths by children recently increased by nearly 1/3, comparing incidents in March to December of 2020 to the same months in 2019;Whereas, by 1 count, in 2021 in the United States, there were 693 mass shooting incidents in which at least 4 people were killed or wounded by gunfire;Whereas, since 2010, 65,000 veterans of the Armed Forces have died by suicide in the United States, with the overwhelming majority of such deaths being the result of a firearm;Whereas, every year in the United States, more than 3,500 children and teens are killed by gun violence and 15,000 children and teens are shot and wounded;Whereas approximately 8,500 people in the United States under the age of 25 die because of gun violence annually, including Hadiya Pendleton, who, in 2013, was killed at 15 years of age in Chicago, Illinois, while standing in a park;Whereas, on June 3, 2022, to recognize the 25th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton (born June 2, 1997), people across the United States will recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to—(1)Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun violence; and(2)the loved ones of those victims; andWhereas June 2022 is an appropriate month to designate as National Gun Violence Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—(1)supports—(A)the designation of June 2022 as National Gun Violence Awareness Month and the goals and ideals of that month; and(B)the designation of June 3, 2022, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, in remembrance of the victims of gun violence; and(2)calls on the people of the United States to—(A)promote greater awareness of gun violence and gun safety;(B)wear orange, the color that hunters wear to show that they are not targets, on National Gun Violence Awareness Day;(C)concentrate heightened attention on gun violence during the summer months, when gun violence typically increases; and(D)bring community members and leaders together to discuss ways to make communities safer.