PRINTER'S NO. 2611
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
534
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY JOHNSON-HARRELL, McCLINTON, KINSEY, HOHENSTEIN,
ISAACSON, A. DAVIS, KOSIEROWSKI, SANCHEZ, McNEILL, CEPHAS,
SCHLOSSBERG, MURT, FREEMAN, ZABEL, HARRIS, YOUNGBLOOD,
KENYATTA, STURLA, HOWARD, RABB, ULLMAN, FITZGERALD, DRISCOLL,
INNAMORATO, SHUSTERMAN, CIRESI, WILLIAMS, WARREN, CALTAGIRONE
AND WEBSTER, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Joint State Government Commission to establish an
advisory committee to conduct a study on gun violence as a
public health crisis and issue a report of its findings and
recommendations to the House of Representatives.
WHEREAS, Gun violence is more prevalent in the United States
than almost any other nation on earth; and
WHEREAS, Every day in the United States, more than 300
individuals are killed or injured by a firearm, amounting to
approximately one individual every four and one-half minutes;
and
WHEREAS, The gun homicide rate in the United States is 25
times higher than in other developed nations; and
WHEREAS, The firearm homicide rate in the United States is
approximately 43 times higher for individuals who are 15 to 24
years of age than in other developed nations; and
WHEREAS, The rate of unintentional firearm deaths is 6.2
times higher in the United States than in other developed
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nations; and
WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), gun violence in the United States took the
lives of approximately 39,773 Americans in 2017; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, gun violence cost the United States
approximately $229 billion, including health care, law
enforcement, insurance, employment and other costs; and
WHEREAS, In the Federal Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations
Bill for Fiscal Year 1997, the Dickey amendment required that
"none of the funds made available for injury prevention and
control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be
used to advocate or promote gun control"; and
WHEREAS, The Dickey amendment has prevented the CDC from
researching gun violence as it would normally research an
epidemic with the same threat to public health, safety and
welfare as gun violence; and
WHEREAS, Under the Dickey amendment, the Congress of the
United States also redirected $2.6 million from the CDC's
budget, the amount of money that the CDC had invested in firearm
injury research during the previous year; and
WHEREAS, A number of organizations have proposed repeal of
the Dickey amendment and treating gun violence as a public
health crisis, but these proposals have not been successful at
the Federal level; and
WHEREAS, Since 1996, the CDC's funding for firearm injury
prevention has decreased 96% to $100,000 out of the total CDC
budget of $5.6 billion; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, former United States Representative Jay
Dickey, the author of the Dickey amendment, announced that he
had changed his mind and now opposes his own amendment, stating
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that:
We are in strong agreement now that scientific research
should be conducted into preventing firearm injuries and
that ways to prevent firearm deaths can be found without
encroaching on the rights of legitimate gun owners. The
same evidence-based approach that is saving millions of
lives from motor-vehicle crashes, as well as from
smoking, cancer and HIV/AIDS, can help reduce the toll of
deaths and injuries from gun violence;
and
WHEREAS, In 2018, the Congress of the United States adopted
an amendment to a funding bill that clarified that the Dickey
amendment only prohibits the CDC from advocating on behalf of
gun control, not from researching it; and
WHEREAS, The American Public Health Association (APHA)
suggests that, similar to how public health officials
investigate a communicable disease, researchers should
investigate the underlying causes of the gun violence epidemic,
how it is transmitted and what potential remedies exist; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, a group of eight national health
professional organizations and the American Bar Association
(ABA) advocated a series of policies to reduce the public health
consequences of firearms, including:
universal background checks of gun purchasers,
elimination of physician 'gag' laws, restricting the
manufacture and sale of military-style assault weapons
and large-capacity magazines for civilian use and
research to support strategies for reducing firearm-
related injuries and death;
and
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WHEREAS, The health professional organizations also
recommended improved monetary assistance for mental health
services; and
WHEREAS, The ABA concluded that none of these recommendations
for reducing gun violence conflict with the Second Amendment of
the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Millions of guns are sold every year in "no
questions asked" transactions; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that 20% of guns sold in the United
States are sold without a meaningful background check; and
WHEREAS, Violent behavior due to a mental health disorder
accounts for only about 4% to 5% of gun violence; and
WHEREAS, More than 60% of all firearm deaths are suicides;
and
WHEREAS, African Americans are nearly 14 times more likely to
die from gun violence than white Americans; and
WHEREAS, A person is killed with a gun every six hours in
this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 79% of all victims of gun homicides in
this Commonwealth are Hispanic or African American; and
WHEREAS, While African Americans comprise just under 12% of
the population in this Commonwealth, they account for more than
69% of gun homicide victims in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, These statistics indicate that gun violence is a
threat to public health and safety in communities of color; and
WHEREAS, In schools from Columbine, 1999, to Virginia Tech,
2007, to Sandy Hook, 2012, to Parkland, 2018, and other school
shootings nationwide since Columbine, the lives of hundreds of
students and school employees have been lost to the epidemic of
gun violence; and
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WHEREAS, According to a 2017 article in the journal
Pediatrics, nearly 1,300 children from 0 to 17 years of age
across the United States die from shootings annually, and 5,790
are treated for gunshot wounds; and
WHEREAS, Schools in this Commonwealth nationwide remain
vulnerable to gun violence; and
WHEREAS, From 2005 to 2014, this Commonwealth had the fifth
highest number of assaults with a firearm against a police
officer per capita; and
WHEREAS, In this Commonwealth on average, a police officer is
assaulted with a firearm every two days; and
WHEREAS, Currently in this Commonwealth, gun-related deaths
exceed vehicle-related deaths every year; and
WHEREAS, From 2012 to 2014, this Commonwealth ranked eighth
for the highest number of guns exported to other states and
recovered in a crime scene; and
WHEREAS, From 2012 to 2014, a total of 5,844 guns sold in
Pennsylvania were used in crimes in surrounding states;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
State Government Commission to establish an advisory committee
to conduct a study on gun violence as a public health crisis and
issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the House
of Representatives; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission
establish an advisory committee consisting of approximately 17
members, including representatives of the following:
(1) the Office of Homeland Security of the Commonwealth;
(2) the Department of Education;
(3) the Department of Health;
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(4) the Department of Human Services;
(5) the Pennsylvania State Police;
(6) the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency;
(7) the Office of Attorney General; and
(8) other agencies, organizations or entities that are
knowledgeable of the issues surrounding gun violence and its
causes and effects on public health and safety, including
representatives who are experienced in the areas of health
care, law enforcement and criminal justice;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission consult
with other departments, agencies, organizations, entities or
persons, as necessary or appropriate, in seeking further input
and information under this resolution; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the report of the Joint State Government
Commission contain the following:
(1) findings and recommendations relating to:
(i) the background information and data described in
this resolution;
(ii) the causes and prevalence of gun violence in
this Commonwealth and throughout the United States; and
(iii) intervention and prevention techniques
proposed, considered or implemented nationwide;
(2) any proposed legislation to reduce gun violence in
this Commonwealth; and
(3) any other data or information determined to be
necessary or appropriate;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue
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its report within one year of the adoption of this resolution.
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