Source: WRAL
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 618 mass shootings have happened in the United States this year.
In North Carolina, more than 1,700 firearm-related deaths happened in 2020, with 116 North Carolina children dying of a firearm-related injury in 2021, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
As firearm-related injuries and deaths continue to increase, North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper is pushing for gun safety.
In a keynote address at a national gun safety conference, Gov. Cooper recalled the moment in which he spoke to families and friends of last month’s mass shooting in Raleigh that left five people dead, stating, “My words and prayers may have been of some comfort, but they wanted more. They were angry. They wanted justice. And they wanted to keep it from happening again.”
During the address, the governor highlighted efforts to increase gun safety measures, including safe storage initiatives, investments towards student mental health and the passage of robust background checks.
In 2021, state House Democrats pushed forth a measure that would have directed and funded an education campaign for the safe storage of firearms, yet the measure was met with resistance from Republicans in the Senate.
According to a 2019 analysis, gun violence costs the state $19.5 billion each year, of which $471 million is paid by North Carolina taxpayers.
