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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, March is Women's History Month and a time to 
3emphasize that gun violence is a women's issue that 
4disproportionately impacts women of color; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, As victims and survivors, women have been forced 
6to advocate on the front lines to save their communities and 
7their families from unspeakable tragedy; and
  
 
8    WHEREAS, Women in the U.S. are 11 times more likely to be 
9murdered with a gun than in other peer nations; and
  
 
10    WHEREAS, Black women are twice as likely to be fatally 
11shot by an intimate partner; younger Black women, between the 
12ages of 18 and 34, are at the greatest risk and are nearly 
13three times more likely to be shot and killed by an intimate 
14partner than white women in the same age group; and
  
 
15    WHEREAS, Illinois' gun violence epidemic reached historic 
16levels in 2020, and women were directly impacted; in Chicago 
17alone, 65% more women were shot or killed in acts of gun 
18violence than in 2019; and
  
 
19    WHEREAS, Domestic violence in Illinois increased 16% in 
202020; the risk of homicide for victims of domestic violence is 
 
 
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15 times higher when there is a gun in the home; and
  
 
2    WHEREAS, Not only are Illinois women likely to be victims 
3of gun violence but so are their children; and
  
 
4    WHEREAS, In Illinois, firearms are the leading cause of 
5death for children and teens; and
  
 
6    WHEREAS, These sobering statistics highlight why gun 
7violence is a women's issue and needs to be addressed; 
8therefore, be it
  
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 
10HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
11we support and will enact policies that are based in equity to 
12keep women and children in Illinois safe from gun violence and 
13that will lead to healthier communities.