Prioritizing Gun Violence Prevention
WHEREAS, there is an epidemic of daily gun violence in the United States unparalleled in any other civilized nation, wherein an average of 33,880 people die from gun violence every year while another 81,114 people survive gun injuries, as evidenced by recent tragedies in the following communities: Ranch Tehama, Sutherland Springs, Las Vegas, Orlando, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Killeen, San Ysidro, Austin, San Bernardino, Fort Hood, Aurora, Columbine, Seal Beach, and Granada Hills; and
WHEREAS, the firearm homicide rate is twenty times higher in the United States than the combined rates of twenty-two countries that are our peers in wealth and population, American children die as a result of gun violence roughly eleven times more often than children in other high-income countries, millions of guns are sold every year in “no questions asked” transactions, and experts estimate that forty percent of guns now sold in the United States are done so without a Brady background check even though three million attempts to purchase firearms by felons, domestic abusers and fugitives have been blocked due to a background check since the Brady Law was initially passed; and
WHEREAS, a New York Times poll conducted in June 2016 found that large majorities of Americans support actions to strengthen gun laws including: banning sales to known or suspected terrorists (89% support), banning sales to those reported as dangerous by a mental health provider (87%), ensuring universal background checks (86%), licensing of owners (78%), registering guns nationally (70%), banning high capacity magazines (63%), and banning sales and ownership of semi-automatic guns (63%); and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley calls on state and federal legislators to enact each of these reforms: ban the possession of semi-automatic and fully-automatic guns, ban possession of guns by those identified as dangerous to themselves or others, require background checks for all gun and ammunition sales, license gun owners, track all guns in a national registry linked to owners, ban high capacity magazines or accumulations of large arsenals, and require owners to carry insurance covering all damage caused by the guns they own regardless of who uses the guns; and
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution will be sent to the President, the Governor, and all state and federal legislators representing the San Fernando Valley.