With well over one million violent crimes taking place throughout America each year, including more than 16,000 homicides, Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex) has sponsored a resolution that would declare violence a public health crisis. Upon the Assembly Health Committee advancing the legislation Monday (AR-17), Tucker released the following statement:
“Violence is so pervasive in our society today that we can tend to normalize it, but we cannot ignore its significance.
“In 2019, our country suffered more mass killings than any other year on record, while our rate of firearm deaths continues to rise. The constant news of gun violence in our schools, neighborhoods, places of worship and so on leaves many people on edge while desensitizing others to the suffering it causes.
“There are over 433,000 victims of sexual assault in the United States each year. These incidents cultivate an environment of fear that women in particular must live with every day.
“We will never forget the attack in Jersey City last year that took the lives of four New Jersey residents, and we must not forget the hundreds of lives lost each year to homicide – including those who die from gun violence.
“We must bring attention to this statewide issue by declaring violence a public health crisis and continuing to do everything we can to reduce its prevalence.”