Title
Calling on President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the 117th United States Congress to immediately implement President Biden's plan to end the gun violence epidemic in cities and begin to appropriate the $900 million in funds President Biden pledged to cities with the highest rates of homicides.
Body
WHEREAS, Around 40,000 Americans die from gun violence every single year. There were 43,000 gun violence deaths in 2020, including over 24,000 suicides. The United States suffered 611 mass shootings in 2020 alone; and
WHEREAS, Decades of intentional federal disinvestment in Black urban communities and state and federal gun law preemption, have contributed to the current gun violence epidemic; and
WHEREAS, During the COVID-19 epidemic, death by suicide has increased, with half of all deaths by suicides occurring via a firearm. Access to guns directly increases the likelihood of someone killing themselves; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia has suffered disproportionately from gun violence. People are shot on an almost daily basis. In 2020, three children were shot per week, on average, in the City. Between 2007 and 2019 there were 17,293 shooting victims in Philadelphia, with over 1,000 shootings each year. One hospital reported treating 1,800 child victims of gun violence between 2007 and 2016. The reoccurring trauma is immense and constant. The impact of gun violence ripples out, impacting everything from the ability of children to focus on schoolwork and enjoy their local playgrounds, to the ability for local businesses to thrive; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia saw a 40% increase in homicides and a 65% increase in the number of shooting victims in 2020, taking gun violence to a new level of emergency; and
WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. campaigned on an ambitious plan to end the nationwide gun violence epidemic, including in Black and brown communities. He pledged, among other things, to "create a $900 million, eight-year initiative to fund...evidence-based interv...
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