New Jersey § 52:17b-239

§ 52:17b-239.

The Legislature finds and declares that: a. On December 14, 2012, a heavily armed man, dressed in black fatigues and a military

vest, walked into a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school and opened fire, horrifically

killing 26 people before killing himself. Twenty of the victims were young children, who were six and seven years old; b. On August 31, 2012 at a Pathmark in Old Bridge, New Jersey an employee armed with

an assault rifle and automatic pistol entered the store and killed two workers before

taking his own life; c. In July 2012, at a crowded midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora,

Colorado, a man wearing body armor and a gas mask entered the theater armed with an

assault rifle, shotgun, and .40-caliber handgun and opened fire into the crowd. Twelve people were killed and 59 others were wounded as a result. The youngest victim was six years old; d. On January 8, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18

others were shot during a public meeting held in a supermarket parking lot. Six of those people were killed; e. On November 5, 2009 there was an attack at Fort Hood, Texas where an Army psychiatrist

was charged with killing 13 soldiers and civilians and wounding more than two dozen

others; f. In Colorado, the movie theater shooting described above was the deadliest shooting

since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, when two students opened

fire in the Denver suburb of Littleton, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding

26 others before killing themselves; g. Assault weapons were used in the Tuscon, Arizona shooting, the Fort Hood shooting,

and the Columbine High School shooting described above; h. The above examples represent a fraction of the violence that occurs nationally

and in this State every year. According to the most recent data available, in this State alone, there are 372

murders per year, meaning there is one murder every 23 hours and 33 minutes in New

Jersey; i. Nationwide, there have been more than 70 mass shootings since the January 8, 2011

shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords described above; j. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized violence as a serious

public health problem in the United States and has reported homicide as the second

leading cause of death among persons 15 to 24 years old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that in addition to the

many violent deaths that occur in this country each year, there are many more individuals

who survive violence and are left with permanent physical and emotional scars and

that this violence erodes communities by reducing productivity, decreasing property

values, and disrupting social services; k. In this State alone, there are 74,244 domestic violence offenses reported by the

police each year, with children being involved or present during 31 percent of these

offenses, according to the most recent data available; l . Nationwide, the equivalent of 10,000 busloads of children end up in emergency rooms

for violence-related injuries every year and more than 5,500 children are murdered

every year; m. A study conducted by the World Health Organization stated that communities with

high numbers of violent children also have higher health care costs, reduced productivity,

and decreased property values; n. A 2001 Surgeon General report found that programs that focused on classroom attendance,

academic progress, and school behavior helped reduce violence among children; o . Although New Jersey has strict gun control laws, these laws are easily circumvented

because of the lack of similar federal laws. In order to provide more safety for New Jersey residents, the federal government

must reinstate its ban on assault weapons which expired on September 13, 1994 and

must expand background check requirements for gun purchases to include all sales and

transfers; p. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientific agencies have

been barred by Congress from using federal funds to advocate or promote gun control,

which appears to ban scientific agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention from using federal funding to conduct research on the causes of gun

violence. Congress should remove this ban and allow these scientific agencies to use federal

funding to conduct this critical public health research; and q. Based upon the foregoing findings regarding these recent horrific incidents illustrating

the alarming prevalence of violence and the detrimental effects that unrelenting violence

has for the good citizens of this nation and State, the Legislature declares violence

to be a grave public health crisis. The Legislature finds that it is, therefore, in the public interest for the State

to establish a commission to study violence in order to help raise awareness about

one of this country's most significant public health crises.