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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois and the nation at large has
3seen a horrid outbreak of gun violence, seen daily on the
4streets of Chicago and other major cities and tragically
5spotlight in Tucson, Arizona, Denver, Colorado, Sandy Hook,
6Connecticut, Roanoke, Virginia, and Roseburg, Oregon; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The citizens of the major cities of our State and
8our nation see killings on the order of these highly publicized
9mass murders on a regular basis; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Today, there are enough privately owned guns in
11the United States of America to arm every man, woman, and
12child; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The fallout of the Great Recession of 2008 is
14still being felt in many parts of this country, where there are
15foreclosed homes and businesses, abandoned properties and
16vacant lots, and a desperate need for economic development; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In Illinois, we see high levels of unemployment
18and broad declines in healthcare, deteriorating
19infrastructure, and shrinking pensions and retirement savings
20as workers in all fields of education, healthcare, and public
21safety are laid off as a result of a financial crisis they did

 

 

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1not create; and
 
2    WHEREAS, In 1967, the report of the Kerner Commission
3stated that "To pursue our present course will involve the
4continuing polarization of the American community and,
5ultimately, the destruction of basic democratic values. The
6alternative is not blind repression or capitulation to
7lawlessness. It is the realization of common opportunities for
8all within a single society"; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Since 1980, cities, states, and the nation have
10asked our citizens to Just Say No, recognize A Thousand Points
11of Light, and pass Three Strike laws and have preached Zero
12Tolerance, but the violence continues unabated; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The City of Chicago has seen a year of gun
14violence among the worst in the history of the City, with 400
15people killed, a 15% increase over the previous year; on
16average, a person is shot every 2.8 hours; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Unemployment in the neighborhoods of Chicago and
18other inner cities is at 30% or higher, with limited economic
19opportunities and underserved, overcrowded, and
20technologically outdated schools; and
 
21    WHEREAS, As a State, we need to find new strategies and

 

 

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1tactics and come up with solutions that protect our citizens
2from the scourge of gun violence, recognizing that enacting the
3same policies that we have passed the last half century and
4expecting different results is, by definition, insanity;
5therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
8urge President Barack Obama to call for a national conference
9on gun violence to be held by the end of 2015 in Chicago, with
10participants that include, but are not limited to, the United
11States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of
12Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the
13Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban
14Development, the Department of Education, leaders of the
15private sector, elected officials at the city and state levels,
16members of our law enforcement community, and citizens who are
17organizing in their communities; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19delivered to the President.