Supporting Community-Driven Efforts to Address Gun Violence
Adopted at the 90th Annual Meeting in 2022
WHEREAS, every day, more than 110 Americans are killed with guns and more than 230 are shot and wounded; and
WHEREAS, when it comes to gun violence in America, approximately 59% of deaths are suicide and more than one-third of gun deaths are homicides; and
WHEREAS, the United States accounts for just 4% of the world's population but 35% of global firearm suicides; and
WHEREAS, the United States gun homicide rate is 25 times that 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 represent nearly a quarter of the US 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 and, in fact, Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide; and
WHEREAS, more specifically, Black men make up 52% of all gun homicide victims in the US, despite comprising less than 6% of the population; and
WHEREAS, firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens; and
WHEREAS, more than 2,000 children and teens die 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, in 2021, Everytown for Gun Safety published a study on the economic cost of gun violence in the United States that found that we are paying $280 billion per year for gun-related violence and that these costs include hospital treatment, ambulances, police response, long-term physical and mental health care, forgone earnings from disability or death, criminal justice costs, and quality-of-life costs for pain and suffering over a victim's lifespan; and
WHEREAS, many localities, such as Richmond, VA; Baltimore, MD; New York City, NY; and Dallas, TX have implemented gun violence prevention and intervention strategies to curb gun violence; and
WHEREAS, localities need both police enforcement and intervention and community prevention programs that are evidence-based to wrap their arms around our youth and their families; it cannot be "either/or." and we will only solve gun violence by working together in a coordinated and strategic manner; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative that localities have the resources to sustain such efforts to address gun violence in their communities using a community and public health approach,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports a community-driven and evidence-based approach to preventing gun violence; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors understands that localities cannot simply address gun violence using police resources alone and that they must involve human services and other holistic supports for children and families to address the root causes of crime; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors also acknowledges that localities need the support of Congress to help stop the flood of illegal firearms into communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress to take action on the following:
- Universal Background Checks – Current federal law does not require background checks on sales between unlicensed parties and this means that people with dangerous histories can easily circumvent the system by purchasing their firearm online or at a gun show; and
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Reform – Congress needs to confirm Steve Dettelbach as ATF director and commit to full funding and staffing of ATF field offices, which can help ensure that the ATF works to keep our communities safe; a strong director at the ATF also will assist with implementing President Biden's new ghost gun regulation, and ATF estimates that approximately 45,000 ghost guns have been recovered at crime scenes since 2016, with more than 19,000 ghost guns being recovered in 2021 alone; and
- Sustained Financial Commitment to Fund Community-based Gun Violence Prevention – Mayors appreciate the funding that the Biden Administration has allocated towards this effort to-date, but the Administration must ensure that line of funding continues in the future.