DELAWARE STATE SENATE

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8

DECLARING GUN VIOLENCE A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.

WHEREAS, every day, more than 100 Americans are shot and killed in the United States and more than 230 people are shot and wounded; and

WHEREAS, according to the Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund’s “A More Complete Picture: The Contours of Gun Injury in the United States” published in December 2020, the rate of gun deaths in the United States increased 18% from 2009 to 2018 and Black people are 2 times more likely than white people to die by guns; and

WHEREAS, the United States’ gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than in other high-income countries; and

WHEREAS, the gun violence epidemic is also an economic crisis in the United States, costing about $280 billion annually, including $3.5 billion in healthcare costs; and

WHEREAS, the United States is experiencing the compounded effects of 2 major health crises simultaneously: COVID-19 and gun violence, and in addition, millions of guns have been sold during the global pandemic, effectively increasing the risk of gun violence; and

WHEREAS, from March through November 2020, an estimated 17.4 million guns were sold, an 81% increase over the same time last year, during a pandemic during which Black Americans are nearly 3 times more likely than white Americans to die from COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, according to the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data for the years 2014 through 2018, Black Americans are 10 times more likely to die by gun homicide than white or Hispanic Americans; and

WHEREAS, from March through May 2020, unintentional shooting deaths by children increased by over 30% compared to the March through May average of the past 3 years; and

WHEREAS, from 2009 through 2018, gun deaths in Delaware have increased 32%, the rate of gun suicides has increased 32%, and the rate of gun homicides has increased 24%; and

WHEREAS, in Delaware, there are 153 hours, only 6 days, between gun suicide deaths and white people are 3 times more likely than Black people to die by gun suicide; and

WHEREAS, Delaware has the 13 ^th highest rate of gun homicides in the country and of all homicides in Delaware, 78% involve a gun, compared to 74% nationally, and

WHEREAS, Black people are 13 times more likely than white people to die by gun homicide in Delaware, compared to 10 times more likely nationally; and

WHEREAS, in Delaware, 53% of female intimate partner homicide victims are killed with a gun.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED b y the Senate of the 151 ^st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the General Assembly hereby declares that gun violence is a public health crisis.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ending the gun violence that is devastating Delaware on a daily basis is a policy priority.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly commits to supporting policy and legislative solutions that will make schools safe, confront armed hate and extremism, prevent suicide, and center and support survivors of gun violence.

SYNOPSIS

This Senate Concurrent Resolution declares that gun violence is a public health crisis, that ending the gun violence devastating Delaware is a policy priority, and supporting policy and legislative solutions that will make schools safe, confront armed hate and extremism, prevent suicide, and center and support survivors of gun violence.

Author: Senator Pinkney