[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 92 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2755-S2756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 651--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF JUNE 
 3, 2022, AS ``NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY'' AND JUNE 2022 AS 
               ``NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Reed, Mr. Cardin, 
Mr. Casey, Mr. Markey, Mr. Lujan, and Ms. Baldwin) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 651

       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;

[[Page S2756]]

       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; and
       Whereas June 2022 is an appropriate month to designate as 
     ``National Gun Violence Awareness Month'': Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, 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.

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