Title
To declare gun violence as a public health crisis in the city of Richmond.
Body
WHEREAS, every day, more than 100 Americans are killed with guns and more than 230 are shot and wounded; and
WHEREAS, when it comes to gun violence in the United States, more than one-third of gun deaths are homicides; and
WHEREAS, the United States gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than the homicide rate of other high-income countries; and
WHEREAS, gun homicides are concentrated in cities-half of all gun homicides took place in just 127 cities, which represented nearly a quarter of the United States population, and within these cities, gun homicides are most prevalent in racially segregated neighborhoods with high rates of poverty; and
WHEREAS, Black Americans represent the majority of gun homicide victims with Black Americans ten times more likely than White Americans to die by gun homicide; and
WHEREAS, firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens, with more than 1,800 children and teens dying by gun homicide every year; and
WHEREAS, Black children and teens are 14 times more likely than White children and teens of the same age to die by gun homicide; and
WHEREAS, Virginia has 1,019 gun deaths every year, with a rate of 11.7 deaths per 100,000 people; and
WHEREAS, one-quarter of all gun homicides in Virginia occur in three areas: Richmond, Norfolk, and Newport News; and
WHEREAS, in Richmond, the year-to-date homicide rate has increased 16 percent since 2020; and
WHEREAS, in Richmond, gun violence has a far more significant impact on young people, with the rate of firearm deaths for youth ages 10 through 24 being more than three times the national rate in 2017; and
WHEREAS, cities across the nation, including Richmond, are working to end the senseless violence with evidence-based solutions; and
WHEREAS, it is the belief of the Mayor and the Council th...
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