A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Recognizing the importance of gun safety.

WHEREAS, since 1903, the first year for which data was available, the per capita rate of accidental gun deaths has decreased 95 percent, from 3.1 to 0.14 deaths per 100,000 people; and

WHEREAS, in 2018, the number of accidental gun deaths was 458--the lowest since at least 1903--and a record low of 0.14 deaths per 100,000 people; and

WHEREAS, during the past 25 years, the number of accidental gun deaths has decreased by more than 66 percent while, at the same time, Americans acquired more than 200 million new guns and today own approximately 407 million guns -- an all-time ownership high; and

WHEREAS, guns are involved in only 0.27 percent of all accidental deaths and only 1.4 percent of all accidental deaths among children; and

WHEREAS, the best way to decrease all accidents is through voluntary education efforts such as the National Rifle Association's safety programs, which are conducted by nearly 116,000 National Rifle Association Certified Instructors and Range Safety Officers nationwide, and which reach more than 1 million participants annually; and

WHEREAS, multiple National Rifle Association programs that teach children about gun safety are offered each year through civic groups such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Jaycees, and the American Legion, as well as through public and private schools; and

WHEREAS, the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle GunSafe program, which since 1988 has been used by 28,000 teachers and law enforcement officers to reach more than 31 million children from pre-school through the third grade, teaches children that if they see a gun, they should not touch it and they should tell an adult; and

WHEREAS, the National Rifle Association’s Law Enforcement Division has trained over 60,000 law enforcement firearms instructors since its inception and currently has more than 13,000 active, certified, law enforcement firearms instructors conducting firearms training for local, state ,and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as for the military; and

WHEREAS, deaths resulting from motor vehicle accidents outnumber accidental gun deaths by 83 to 1; and

WHEREAS, gun control supporters are calling for gun manufacturers to be subjected to consumer product regulations that are designed to result in the banning of handguns and other weapons;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Senate of the Ninety-Fifth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that all owners and users of guns commit to observing and abiding by safe handling and storage practices, and that they avail themselves of training and practice opportunities so that safety improvements continue to be realized.