2019 -- S 0947

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LC002621

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

COMMEMORATING JUNE 7, 2019, AS "NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS

DAY" IN RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Senators Goldin, Miller, Ruggerio, Lombardi, and Bell

     Date Introduced: June 05, 2019

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, Every day, 100 Americans are killed by gun violence and countless others

are wounded; and

     WHEREAS, Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed with guns than people in

other high-income countries; and

     WHEREAS, Protecting public safety in the communities they serve is among a

legislator's highest responsibilities; and

     WHEREAS, Support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes

hand-in-hand with keeping guns away from people that should not have them; and

     WHEREAS, June 7 of 2019 would have marked the 22nd 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 100 Americans whose lives are cut short

daily, and the countless others who are wounded by gun violence every day, June 7, 2019, has

been designated as the 5th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day; and

     WHEREAS, The idea for this day 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 protect themselves and others, and orange is a color that has been

embraced by the gun safety movement because it symbolizes the value of human life; and

     WHEREAS, By wearing orange and commemorating National Gun Violence Awareness

Day on June 7, 2019, Americans will raise awareness about gun violence, and honor the lives and

lost human potential of Americans stolen by gun violence; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby honors and remembers all victims and survivors of gun violence and declares that we as a

nation must do more to reduce gun violence; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby renews its commitment to reduce gun violence and

pledges to do all it can to help keep firearms out of the wrong hands, to encourage responsible

gun ownership, and to help keep our children safe; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby commemorates June 7, 2019, as "National Gun

Violence Awareness Day" in the State of Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President of

the United States, the Honorable Gina M. Raimondo, Governor of the State of Rhode Island, and

to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation.

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