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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Gun violence has reached record levels across the |
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United States; and |
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WHEREAS, Data from the Centers for Disease Control and |
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Prevention shows that incidents involving a firearm are the leading |
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cause of death for Americans from 1 to 18 years of age; 3,219 such |
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deaths occurred in 2020; and |
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WHEREAS, Nearly 49,000 Americans lost their lives to gun |
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violence in 2021, according to an analysis by the Johns Hopkins |
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Center for Gun Violence Solutions; between 2019 and 2021, homicides |
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involving guns increased by 45 percent, compared to just 6 percent |
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for other murders; the alarming spike parallels a surge in gun |
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purchases during the pandemic, including an increase in sales to |
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first-time owners; moreover, tens of thousands of individuals |
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suffered nonfatal but life-changing gun injuries; and |
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WHEREAS, In Texas, someone is killed with a gun every two |
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hours, and the state's rate of nonfatal gun injuries is 27 percent |
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higher than the national rate; guns make domestic violence |
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incidents far more likely to end in fatalities, and more than |
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60 percent of intimate partner homicides involve a firearm; and |
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WHEREAS, Firearms have vast potential to amplify violence, |
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and Texas has experienced some of the nation's worst mass shootings |
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in recent years; the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting |
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claimed 26 lives and left 20 people wounded; the next year, a |
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17-year-old student killed 10 and injured 13 at Santa Fe High |
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School; 2019 brought even more devastation, when a single month saw |
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both the massacre at an El Paso Walmart that left 23 dead and 25 |
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wounded and the shooting spree in Midland-Odessa that resulted in 7 |
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dead and 25 injured; in 2022, an 18-year-old gunman shot his |
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grandmother before attacking Robb Elementary School, where 21 |
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perished and 17 suffered injury; and |
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WHEREAS, Survivors of gun violence may experience severe |
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long-term consequences, ranging from paralysis and other physical |
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disabilities to problems with memory, thinking, and emotions, as |
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well as chronic mental health conditions such as post-traumatic |
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stress disorder; even in the absence of physical injury, exposure |
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to such violence can have enduring negative effects on child health |
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and development, and the effects of firearm violence extend beyond |
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victims and their families; mass shooting incidents can affect the |
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sense of safety and security of entire communities and impact |
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everyday decisions; the National Center for PTSD estimates that |
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28 percent of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop the |
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condition, while about a third develop acute stress disorder; |
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incidents of mass violence have an enormous behavioral health |
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impact on most people, whether they are survivors, witnesses, or |
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exposed through mass media; moreover, active shooter drills in |
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schools, implemented widely in response to mass shootings, are |
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associated with increases in depression, stress, anxiety, and |
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physiological problems among students, their teachers, and their |
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parents; and |
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WHEREAS, From 2019 to 2021, rates of gun-related suicide rose |
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by 10 percent, even as suicides by other means decreased by about 8 |
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percent; over 26,300 Americans died in suicides involving firearms |
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in 2021, a record high; research has shown that access to a gun in |
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the home increases the risk of suicide death by 300 percent; as the |
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most lethal method of suicide, firearms account for just 5 percent |
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of attempts, but more than half of all suicide deaths; the vast |
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majority of people who survive an attempted suicide do not try |
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again, but only about 10 percent of those who attempt suicide by |
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firearm live to get the help they need; and |
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WHEREAS, Contrary to some media narratives, a study from The |
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University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston concludes that |
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there is insufficient evidence to infer that gun violence is caused |
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by mental health issues; furthermore, research shows that adults |
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with mental illnesses experience violence at high rates, and they |
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are more likely to be victims, not perpetrators, of community |
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violence; and |
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WHEREAS, While the human toll of gun violence is the most |
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wrenching, the economic consequences are immense as well, reaching |
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$557 billion in an average year, comparable to 2.6 percent of |
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U.S. gross domestic product; gun violence imposes myriad burdens on |
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society, including work loss, medical and mental health care, |
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emergency transportation, police and criminal justice activities, |
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insurance claims processing, employer costs, and decreased quality |
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of life; and |
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WHEREAS, Gun violence is not inevitable, as shown by other |
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wealthy nations with gun homicide rates vastly lower than ours; the |
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United States has a deeply rooted culture of gun violence that has |
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not received the same sustained, data-driven attention and |
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government investment as other public health problems, including |
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motor vehicle accidents and HIV/AIDS; in addressing those threats, |
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scientific research informed a comprehensive public health |
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response that dramatically shifted their trajectory; and |
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WHEREAS, The size, complexity, and grave social and economic |
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consequences of the gun violence epidemic demand a similarly |
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comprehensive, science-based approach; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby declare gun violence a public health crisis. |