CITY
OF
OAKLAND
CITY HALL
•
1 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA •
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
94612
#LoveLife
REBECCA KAPLAN
NIKKI FORTUNATO BAS
Vice Mayor
Council President
District At-Large
District 2
Date: June 23, 2022To: Members of City Council and Members of the PublicFrom: Vice Mayor Kaplan and Council President Fortunato BasRe: ResolutionSupportingHouseResolution7910(Nadler),“ProtectingOurKidsAct”,WhichMakesVariousChangesTo FederalFirearmsLaws,IncludingEstablishingNewCriminalOffensesAndExpandingTheTypesOfWeaponsAndDevicesThatAre Subject To Regulation In Order To Quell Senseless Acts Of Gun Violence Dear Colleagues on the City Council and Members of the Public, In recentweeks,31 peoplehavebeenmurderedandanother20injuredat thehandsoftwo18-year-oldslegallyarmedwithsemiautomaticassaultrifles.Tragically, thesemassmurdersareillustrativeoftheissuesourcountryfaceswithgunviolence.WhileOaklandhasenactedsomeofthestrongestfirearmssafetylawsinCalifornia,andCaliforniahasthestrongeststategunlaws,botharebeingunderminedbyweaknationalandneighborstategunlaws.Inordertobetteralignfederallawwithourstronglocalgunsafetylaws,thisresolutionwouldextendtheCity’ssupporttoHouseResolution7910,ProtectingOurKidsAct,whichtakesnumerousmeasurestoaddressgunviolence,gunsafety, responsiblegunownership,regulationofcertainfirearmsandcomponents,gun trafficking, and public safety.
Today, moreAmericanscarryguns,legallyandillegally, thaneverbeforewithnearly400millionfirearmscirculatinginAmerica 1 . AccordingtotheGunViolenceArchive,thecountryrecorded692massshootingswithfourormoreinjuriesin2021,upfrom610in2020and417in2019 2 .Whilegarneringmajorpublicattention,firearmsafetygoesbeyondmassshootingsandareadailythreattocommunities,asfirearmdeathsreplacedmotorvehicleaccidentsastheleadingcauseofdeathforAmericansages1 to19in2020,accordingtoananalysisoftheCentersforDiseaseControl and Prevention data published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 2 Gun Violence Archive 2022, published as of June 21, 2022. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/ 1 U.S. House Committee on Judiciary.Protecting OurKids Act (To Accompany H.R. 7910);(REPT. 117–346).https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-117hrpt346/pdf/CRPT-117hrpt346-pt1.pdf City CouncilJuly 5, 2022File #22-05491
Weknowgunviolenceaffectscertaincommunitiesatdisparaterates.Forexample,gunviolenceisresponsiblefora morethanfour-yearreductioninlifeexpectancyforBlackmeninAmerica 3 . Incommunitiesofcolor, gunviolenceisoftendrivenbytwofactors:easyaccesstogunsandasmallgroupofpeopleathighriskofengaginginviolence—sometimesnomorethan0.25%to1%ofthecity’s population 4 .
Mostofthecitieschronicallyimpactedbygunviolence,Oaklandasa primeexample,doesnothavemany, if any, federallylicensedgundealerswithintheircitylimits.Instead,gundealerstypicallysitoutsidethesecommunities,frequentlyinlessdiverseandmoreaffluentsuburbs,andprofitfromirresponsibleorillegalsalesthatdrivegunsintocitiesthatlaterturnupatcrimescenes.H.R.7910,the‘‘ProtectingOurKidsAct’’ wouldemploya varietyofstrategiestoeffectivelyreducegunviolenceacrossthecountrybyraisingtheagethatcertainsemiautomaticfirearmscanlawfullybepossessed,limitingtheaccessibilityoflargecapacitymagazines,prohibitingstrawpurchasing,promotingthesafestorageoffirearms,andbuildingonexistingregulationstotakeghost guns and bump stocks out of our communities.
GiventhatOaklandalreadyprohibitspossessionoflarge-capacitymagazines,unsecuredfirearms,andammunitioninunattendedvehicles,requiresthesafestorageoffirearmsinresidences,andprohibitsnonexemptpersonsfromowningghostguns,wearewhollysupportiveH.R.7910,theProtectingOurKidsAct,whichtakesimportantstepstoincreasegunsafetynationally,aswehavedone locally. 4 Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Crime Gunsin Impacted Communities, available athttps://brady-static.s3.amazonaws.com/Report/crime-guns-in-impacted-communities/CrimeGunsInImpactedCommunities-report.pdf 3 Kalesan B, Vyliparambil MA, Zuo Y, Siracuse JJ, Fagan JA, Branas CC, Galea S. Cross-sectional study of loss oflife expectancy at different ages related to firearm deaths among black and white Americans. BMJ EvidBased Med.2019 Apr; 24(2): 55-58. doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2018-111103. Epub 2018 Dec 4. PMID: 30514715.
City CouncilJuly 5, 2022File #22-05492