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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Every day, more than 120 Americans are killed by
3gun violence, and more than 200 are shot and wounded, with an
4average of more than 17,000 gun homicides every year; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun
6homicide than people in other high-income countries; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Illinois has 1,622 gun deaths every year, with a
8rate of 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people; this crisis costs the
9state $18.6 billion each year, of which $625.5 million is paid
10by taxpayers; Illinois has the 35th highest rate of gun deaths
11in the U.S.; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Protecting public safety in the communities they
13serve is among a legislator's highest responsibilities; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Support for the Second Amendment rights of
15law-abiding citizens goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns away
16from people that should not have them; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Gun violence prevention is more important than
18ever as there has been an increase in firearm homicides and
19nonfatal shootings across the country, an increase in calls to
20domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in city gun

 

 

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1violence; and
 
2    WHEREAS, In January of 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was
3tragically shot and killed at the age of 15; to acknowledge her
426th birthday, people across the United States will recognize
5National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, 2023 and wear
6orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun
7violence as well as the loved ones of those victims; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya
9Pendleton's friends who asked their classmates to commemorate
10her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because
11hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters
12when out in the woods and because orange is a color that
13symbolizes the value of human life; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear
15orange on June 2nd, the first Friday in June of 2023, to help
16raise awareness about gun violence; and
 
17    WHEREAS, By wearing orange on June 2, 2023, Americans will
18raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun
19violence victims and survivors; and
 
20    WHEREAS, To help keep families sand communities safe, it
21is of the utmost importance to make a commitment to reduce gun

 

 

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1violence, to pledge to do all that is possible to keep firearms
2out of the hands of people who should not have access to them,
3and to encourage responsible gun ownership; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6we declare June 2, 2023 as "Gun Violence Awareness Day" in the
7State of Illinois; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we encourage all citizens to support their
9communities' efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun
10violence and to honor and value human lives.