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GUEST COLUMN |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Ann
Collis |
State Rep. Jewell
Williams |
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April 12, 2007
Pennsylvanians should band together on gun violence
By state Rep. Jewell Williams
During my tenure as a state representative, I have been proud to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to resolve local, regional and state issues. The problem of gun violence has reached a crisis point, and the time is overdue to take a serious look at ways to reduce the number of injuries and deaths not only in urban cities, but also in rural areas.
The hardened criminals in our communities think nothing of firing a gun at another living person. They negate the will of citizens who simply want a safe community for themselves and their children to live in and enjoy. The cost of shooting an innocent bystander -- whether it results in permanent disability or death -- is too steep of a price for any citizen in any area of our state. These criminals are parasites who thrive on our inaction, our silence and our fear. Their shattering of the sanctity of our families and communities has gone too far.
In the battlefield of Philadelphia, there has been more grief, more fatherless children, more parents coping with the loss of a child, and more widows than anyone should endure. In 2005, we lost 380 people, with 309 people killed by a handgun in Philadelphia. In 2006, we lost 406 people in homicides throughout our city. So far this year, there have been over 100 homicides. The murder rate in Philadelphia right now is higher than in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
In Pennsylvania, black homicide is six times the national average and locally, the vast majority of black murders -- three out of four -- stem from gunfire. Worse yet, the number of homicide victims between the ages of 10 and 17 is growing steadily. In 2006, citywide, about 10 percent of the 406 homicide victims were younger than 18, according to the police department. We are losing a generation of young people to gun violence.
If that doesn’t catch your attention, consider this: medical costs of gun violence put a terrible burden on health service providers and governments. According to the Brady Campaign, when indirect costs of gun violence -- loss of productivity, mental health treatment and rehabilitation, legal and judicial costs -- are figured in, gun violence costs the United States at least $100 billion annually. Most victims of gun violence are uninsured, so the public pays!
Our nation has prided itself as being a global leader. Sadly, the United States has the distinction of leading the world in firearm violence:
- Guns claim the lives of more than 30,000 people a year.
- For every person who dies from a gunshot wound, two others are injured.
- Children and young people under the age of 25 account for almost 40 percent of all firearm deaths and injuries.
- Guns are the second leading cause of injury-related deaths nationwide; only motor vehicle accidents claim more lives.
Pennsylvanians must stop fighting each other and start finding a solution to this frightening epidemic. We need law enforcement to step up, but most of all, we need the community to be vigilant in the quest to end this crisis.
The state House Judiciary Committee is doing its part through a statewide listening tour on these issues in order to craft meaningful legislation to aid us in our fight. These informational sessions are being conducted in Reading, Erie, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Philadelphia to get citizen input on issues and proposed legislation related to crime, violence and gun policies.
The only way we can stop the violence plaguing our communities is to start looking for practical common-sense solutions. I urge you to get involved, to speak up and to band together for the sake of all Pennsylvanians.
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