[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 348 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 348

             Declaring gun violence a public health crisis.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 2, 2023

  Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. 
  Velazquez, Ms. Norton, Mr. Evans, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Higgins of New 
York, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. DeSaulnier, 
  Ms. Titus, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Brown, Mr. David 
Scott of Georgia, Mr. Frost, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Crockett, and Mr. Bowman) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                         on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
             Declaring gun violence a public health crisis.

Whereas gun violence remains the leading cause of death for children and 
        adolescents in the United States, according to the latest mortality data 
        by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
Whereas there have been at least 2,069 school shooting incidents in the United 
        States since 1970, causing 684 fatalities and 1,937 injuries, according 
        to the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and 
        Security;
Whereas more than 349,000 students in the United States have experienced gun 
        violence at school in the time since the Columbine shooting occurred in 
        1999;
Whereas, on April 16, 2007, 33 people were shot and killed at Virginia 
        Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia;
Whereas the United States has experienced hundreds of public mass shootings in 
        churches, schools, concerts, and movie theaters, including--

    (1) on August 5, 2012, when 6 people were shot and killed at a Sikh 
temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin;

    (2) on December 14, 2012, when 27 individuals, including 20 children, 
were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, 
Connecticut;

    (3) on June 17, 2015, when 9 Black Americans were shot and killed at 
the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South 
Carolina;

    (4) on December 2, 2015, when 14 people were shot and killed at the 
Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California;

    (5) on June 12, 2016, when 49 individuals, 90 percent of whom were 
Hispanic, were shot and killed at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 
what is considered the deadliest attack on LGBTQ+ people in United States 
history;

    (6) on September 16, 2013, when 12 people were shot and killed at the 
headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command inside Washington Navy Yard 
in Southeast Washington, DC;

    (7) on October 1, 2017, when 58 people were shot and killed and 546 
others were injured in Las Vegas, Nevada, in what is known to be the 
deadliest mass shooting in United States history committed by a single 
individual;

    (8) on November 5, 2017, when 27 people were shot and killed at a 
church in Sutherland Springs, Texas;

    (9) on February 14, 2018, when 17 students and staff were shot and 
killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida;

    (10) on October 27, 2018, when 11 people were shot and killed at the 
Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;

    (11) on August 3, 2019, when 23 people were shot and murdered during an 
act of domestic terrorism in El Paso, Texas, considered one of the 
deadliest attacks on a Hispanic community in modern American history;

    (12) on May 14, 2022, when 10 Black Americans were shot and killed in a 
racially motivated rampage at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York;

    (13) on May 24, 2022, when 19 students and 2 teachers were shot and 
killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas;

    (14) on January 21, 2023, when 11 Asian Americans were shot and killed 
at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California;

    (15) on March 27, 2023, when 6 elementary school students and staff 
were shot and killed at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee;

    (16) on April 10, 2023, when 5 people were shot and killed at Old 
National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky; and

    (17) on April 15, 2023, when 4 young people were shot and killed at a 
birthday celebration in Dadeville, Alabama;

Whereas in the United States--

    (1) every day, 120 people are shot and killed, and more than 200 are 
shot and wounded at the hands of a gun;

    (2) 44,340 people died from gun-related injuries in 2022;

    (3) the gun homicide rate is at least 26 times higher than in other 
high-income countries;

    (4) 54 percent of gun-related deaths were suicides in both 2020 and 
2021;

    (5) there were at least 646 mass shootings in 2022 where 4 or more 
people were shot or killed in a single incident involving a gun;

    (6) there have already been more than 173 mass shootings in 2023 where 
4 or more people have been shot or killed in a single incident involving a 
gun; and

    (7) 61 active shooter incidents led to over 100 deaths in 2021, a 52.5-
percent increase from 2020, according to the most recently available data 
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

Whereas, in an average year, at least 10,300 hate crimes involve a firearm in 
        the United States, which is more than 28 every day;
Whereas communities of color are disproportionately impacted by gun violence;
Whereas neighborhoods suffering from gun violence are the same areas that lack 
        economic opportunity, adequate infrastructure, access to quality 
        schools, and housing opportunities;
Whereas, every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate 
        partner;
Whereas intimate partner violence is a serious public health problem, and 
        instances of severe physical violence and violence inflicted with a 
        firearm are predominantly experienced by women with male partners;
Whereas, in 2015, 92 percent of all firearm deaths among women in high-income 
        countries occurred in the United States;
Whereas 16 percent of gay and lesbian youth, 11 percent of bisexual youth, and 
        29 percent of transgender youth have been threatened or injured with a 
        deadly weapon on school property, including guns, according to a Youth 
        Risk Behavior Survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention;
Whereas, in 2016, the American Medical Association adopted its policy calling 
        gun violence in the United States ``a public health crisis'' requiring a 
        comprehensive public health response and solution;
Whereas, in 2016, the American Medical Association President noted that ``with 
        [tens of thousands of] men, women and children dying each year at the 
        barrel of a gun in elementary schools, movie theaters, workplaces, 
        houses of worship and on live television, the United States faces a 
        public health crisis of gun violence'';
Whereas, in 2018, the American College of Physicians issued a position paper 
        detailing how ``firearm violence continues to be a public health crisis 
        that requires the nation's immediate attention'';
Whereas, in 2019, a study by Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of 
        Medicine found that more United States school-age children die from guns 
        than on-duty United States police or global military fatalities;
Whereas the American Public Health Association finds that gun violence is a 
        leading cause of premature death in the United States;
Whereas, in 2019, Black children and teens had the highest gun death rate, 
        followed by American Indian and Alaska Native children and teens;
Whereas, in 2020, guns became the leading cause of death for children in the 
        United States, a trend which has continued in all years that have 
        followed;
Whereas, in 2021, the Governor of New York declared gun violence a public health 
        emergency;
Whereas, in 2021, the mayor of Washington, DC, declared gun violence to be a 
        public health crisis and announced a whole-of-government approach to 
        combating this crisis;
Whereas, in 2021, the Governor of Illinois declared gun violence a public health 
        crisis;
Whereas, in 2022, 6,171 children aged 0 to 17 were injured or died as a result 
        of gun violence;
Whereas, in January 2022, city officials in Cincinnati, Ohio, declared gun 
        violence a public health crisis;
Whereas, in February 2022, the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, declared gun violence a 
        public health crisis;
Whereas, in June 2022, the Guilford County Commissioners in North Carolina 
        declared gun violence a public health crisis;
Whereas a public health crisis is defined as meeting 4 criteria--

    (1) the condition affects many people, is seen as a threat to the 
public, and is continuing to increase;

    (2) the condition is distributed unfairly;

    (3) preventive measures could reduce the effects of the condition; and

    (4) those preventive measures are not yet in place;

Whereas gun violence meets the criteria of a public health crisis;
Whereas, in 1979, the Surgeon General identified violent behavior as a key 
        public health priority;
Whereas, in 1992, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established the 
        National Center for Injury Prevention and Control as the lead Federal 
        organization for violence prevention;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines a 4-step public 
        health approach to violence prevention, rooted in the scientific method, 
        which requires officials to--

    (1) define and monitor the problem;

    (2) identify risk and protective factors;

    (3) develop and test prevention strategies; and

    (4) assure widespread adoption;

Whereas a Federal public health crisis declaration defines gun violence as a 
        pervasive health issue and alerts the Nation of the need to enact 
        immediate and effective cross-governmental efforts to prevent gun 
        violence; and
Whereas such declaration requires the response of the Government to engage 
        significant resources to empower those communities that are impacted: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) declares gun violence a public health crisis in the 
        United States;
            (2) supports the resolutions drafted, introduced, and 
        adopted by cities, localities, and States across the Nation 
        declaring gun violence a public health crisis or emergency;
            (3) urges a coordinated whole-of-government effort to 
        addressing the gun violence public health crisis and ensuring 
        the safety of all children;
            (4) urges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to 
        continue its work utilizing the 4-step public health approach 
        to violence prevention and collaborate with other Federal 
        Government agencies to resolve the gun violence public health 
        crisis;
            (5) urges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to 
        expand its research and data collection capabilities pertaining 
        to gun violence prevention;
            (6) urges the Surgeon General to issue a report on firearm 
        injuries and violence prevention; and
            (7) commits to ending the gun violence public health crisis 
        so that all people can enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
        happiness.
                                 <all>