Designating the month of June 2015 as "Gun Violence Awareness Month" in Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, Gun violence poses a serious and ongoing threat to public health both nationally and in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, In the past, particularly throughout 2012 and 2013, Philadelphia had the highest rate of homicide per capita among the nation's largest municipalities according to The Gun Crisis Reporting Project, a nonprofit journalism organization, focused on the epidemic of homicide by gunfire in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, The impact of gun violence is larger than just homicides as injuries by those who survive gun shootings can have life altering consequences for the victims and their families, including unreimbursed medical costs, permanent physical incapacitation, post traumatic stress, lost wages, foreclosures and homelessness; and

WHEREAS, Gun violence has a societal cost in the form long-term prison costs for perpetrators. Nationally the cost of this incarceration to taxpayers has been estimated to be $5.2 billion according to research conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation1; and

WHEREAS, The proliferation of illegal guns in our City is also a major contributor to gun violence; and

WHEREAS, “Gun Violence Awareness Month” is a statewide and national effort

to promote greater awareness about gun violence and gun safety, to concentrate annual heightened attention to gun violence during the summer months, when gun violence typically increases and to bring citizens and community leaders together to discuss ways to make our communities healthier; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby designates the month of June 2015 as “Gun Violence Awareness Month” in Philadelphia.

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1

See Opinion L.A., “We all pay: The high costs of gun violence” by Scott Martelle, April 17, 2015,

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-gun-violence-financial-cost-nra-20150417-story.html#page=1