Title
Recognizing June 2022 as "Gun Violence Awareness Month" in Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Gun violence poses a serious and ongoing threat to safety and public health both nationally and in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, 2021 was Philadelphia's deadliest year on record, and gun violence caused the overwhelming majority of the more than 562 homicides the city recorded that year; and
WHEREAS, Gun suicide claims the lives of nearly 24,000 people in the United States each year. According to the Center for Disease Control, the United States saw 45,222 people die from gun-related injuries in the U.S. in 2020; and
WHEREAS, Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States. Every year, more than 3,500 children and teens are shot and killed, and another 15,000 are shot and wounded-an average of ten children and teens shot and killed and 42 shot and wounded every day; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the United States the impact of gun violence is seen disproportionately across communities of color. In Pennsylvania, Black people are 21 times more likely than white people to die by gun homicide, compared to 10 times nationwide. Nationwide, 68 percent of Black and Latino Americans or someone they care for has experienced gun violence in their lifetime, demonstrating the impact and devastation gun violence has in communities across America; and
WHEREAS, Gun violence causes a broad range of devastating collateral consequences for shooting survivors, their families, friends, and communities. Those consequences include posttraumatic stress, permanent physical disability, and death, along with lost wages and unemployment, medical costs, foreclosures and homelessness, and community destabilization; and
WHEREAS, Analysis by the Harvard Medical School shows that people who survive a firearm injury face greater risks of mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and pain in the year following injury. The immediate family members of survivors al...
Click here for full text