2023 05 16 National Gun Violence Proclamation

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IULCity�f Louisville COLc)KADO • SINCE 1878 PROCLAMATION DECLARING JUNE 2nd TO BE NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY This proclamation, on behalf of the Louisville City Council, declares June 2, 2023 to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the City of LOUISVILLE to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and to declare that we as a country must do more to reduce gun violence. WHEREAS, every day, more than 120 Americans are killed by gun violence and more than 200 sustain non -fatal firearm injuries over the last 5 years; and WHEREAS, Americans are 26 times more likely to be killed with guns than people in other developed countries; and WHEREAS, protecting public safety in the communities they serve is a mayors' highest responsibility; and WHEREAS, mayors and law enforcement officers know their communities best, are the most familiar with local criminal activity and how to address it, and are best positioned to understand how to keep their citizens safe; and WHEREAS, June 2, 2023 would have been the 26th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton, a teenager who marched in President Obama's second inaugural parade and was tragically shot and killed just weeks later; and WHEREAS, to help honor Hadiya — and the 120 Americans whose lives are cut short and the countless survivors who are injured by shootings every day — a national coalition of organizations has designated June 2, 2023, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day; and WHEREAS, the idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya's friends, who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life; and WHEREAS, anyone can join this campaign by pledging to Wear Orange on June 2nd to help raise awareness about gun violence; and