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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, According to recent estimates, firearm use led to
3the deaths of nearly 34,000 Americans, including: 21,175
4suicides, 11,208 homicides, 505 deaths due to accidental
5discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths due to the undetermined
6intent of firearm usage; these totals include: 1,117
7Illinoisans who died through firearm usage, including: 576
8homicides, 496 suicides, 18 unintentional deaths, 16 legal
9interventions, and 11 through undetermined intent; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The number of shooting victims in the City of
11Chicago in 2015 totaled 2,988, and to date in 2016 it stands at
121,523; with more deaths occurring every month in 2016 when
13compared to the same period of 2015; and
 
14    WHEREAS, According to a recent study by the American
15Journal of Medicine, Americans are 10 times more likely to be
16killed by guns than people in other developed countries; and
 
17    WHEREAS, According to the advocacy group Be Smart for Kids,
18every year, at least 100 children aged 17 and under die in
19unintentional shootings and 400 children die from suicide
20because guns are not safely stored; and
 
21    WHEREAS, On January 16, 2013, following the tragedy at

 

 

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1Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut and in
2response to the growing epidemic of gun deaths, President
3Barack Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the
4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct or
5sponsor research into the causes of gun violence and strategies
6to prevent it; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Since 1996, the United States Congress has blocked
8any funds for the CDC to sponsor or conduct research into the
9causes of gun violence and strategies to prevent it; and
 
10    WHEREAS, On June 14, 2016, the American Medical Association
11(AMA), the largest professional association of physicians in
12the United States, recognized that "uncontrolled ownership and
13use of firearms, especially handguns, is a serious threat to
14the public's health, inasmuch as the weapons are one of the
15main causes of intentional and unintentional injuries and
16deaths"; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The AMA joined the American College of Physicians
18and the American College of Surgeons in recognizing that gun
19violence is a public health crisis; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22urge the members of the 114th Congress to appropriate funding

 

 

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1to allow the CDC to recognize and study gun violence as a
2public health crisis; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we commend the action of the American
4Medical Association in officially recognizing gun violence as a
5public health crisis requiring action by the federal
6government; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
8delivered to President Barack H. Obama, Speaker of the United
9States House of Representatives Paul D. Ryan, House Minority
10Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,
11Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and CDC Director Dr. Tom
12Frieden.