Keystone Today

Lawmakers announced bill alongside Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, gun violence prevention advocates today in North Philly

Every day, 120 people in the United States are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded

Philadelphia, PA – On June 9, 2023, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and U.S. Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) announced at a press conference in North Philadelphia that they introduced the Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act to help all victims of gun violence—from survivors to their loved ones, coworkers, and classmates—identify and access the resources available to them to help meet medical, legal, financial, and other needs. The bill would establish an interagency Advisory Council to help victims navigate and use these resources, streamlining what can be a complex process in a Nation of gun violence survivors. Every year in America, approximately 100,000 individuals survive gun-related injuries. An estimated 10,000,000 individuals in the U.S. have been shot & injured in their lifetimes. In Philadelphia alone there have been more than 750 victims of gun violence in 2023, accounting for fatalities and injuries.

“While we continue to fight for commonsense measures to prevent gun violence in our communities, we owe it to survivors and their loved ones and caregivers to make sure they have the support they need to recover and move forward from gun violence,” Senator Casey said. “The Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act will better connect survivors, families, and caregivers to resources that support their recovery and help them manage the long-term of effects of these preventable tragedies.”

“Senator Casey and I introduced this legislation because we saw a need to better coordinate resources for victims and survivors of gun violence,” Congressman Evans said. “I thank Lt. Gov. Davis for implementing this common-sense idea at the state level – in addition to helping many Pennsylvanians, I think this will show how our legislation can help victims and survivors across the country. Pennsylvania is leading the way!”

“As we change the environment and we fix our communities and we stop violence from happening, we cannot allow you to forget those who have been harmed and those who have been impacted. Those people we cannot leave behind as we move forward in changing our city and changing our state,” Chantay Love, President of Every Murder Is Real (EMIR) Healing Center. “Untreated trauma perpetuates violence.”

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) cosponsored the legislation.

The bill has 32 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, including U.S. Representatives Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2), Susan Wild (D-PA-7), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5).

The bill is supported by Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady, Giffords, March for Our Lives, Newtown Action Alliance, Junior Newtown Action Alliance, States United To Prevent Gun Violence, CeaseFirePA, Survivors Empowered, Community Justice Action Fund, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence.Read more about the Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act HERE.

Original source can be found here.