Senator Dilan Joins Colleagues in Declaring June Gun Violence Awareness

Today Senator Martin Malavé Dilan, Senate colleagues and fellow Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus members  passed a resolution proclaiming June 2015 as Gun Violence Awareness Month in the State of New York.

Sponsored by Senator Hassell-Thompson and Conference Leader Stewart-Cousins, the goal of resolution J. 2568 is to shine light on the need to pass important gun safety legislation and to utilize various community resources to combat the epidemic of gun violence. 

Gun violence remains a devastating crisis statewide. In New York City, 355 homicides, 52 percent of murders reported statewide in 2013,  were by firearms. According to the New York City Police Department, African Americans, who represent 23 percent of the city’s population, accounted for nearly 64 percent of murder victims and 74 percent of shooting victims during the first half of 2013.  As summer approaches, warmer temperatures precipitate an annual spike in gun violence.

“The fact that an escalation in gun violence marks the seasonal shift in our city is beyond troubling. Our communities are being consumed by fear, terrorized by a scourge of violence and illegal gun activity. Shootings and related injuries have become common place. It seems every week we read of yet another cold-blooded murder or gang-related execution, as was the case recently with a 14 year old on his way to school. This cannot be the norm. We can’t live in constant fear of merely going about our day, wondering if today will be a father’s last bus ride home, or our child’s last walk to school. It has to end,” said State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan.