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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Every day, more than 100 Americans are killed by | ||||||
3 | gun violence, and 230 are shot and wounded; on average, there | ||||||
4 | are more than 13,000 gun homicides every year; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Americans are 25 times more likely to die by gun | ||||||
6 | homicide than people in other high-income countries; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Illinois has 1,400 gun deaths every year, with a | ||||||
8 | rate of 11 deaths per 100,000 people; Illinois has the 36th | ||||||
9 | highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S.; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Protecting public safety in the communities they | ||||||
11 | serve is among a legislator's highest responsibilities; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Support for the Second Amendment rights of | ||||||
13 | law-abiding citizens goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns away | ||||||
14 | from people that shouldn't have them; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Gun violence prevention is more important than | ||||||
16 | ever as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate gun | ||||||
17 | violence after more than a year of increased gun sales, of | ||||||
18 | increased calls to suicide and domestic violence hotlines, and | ||||||
19 | an increase in city gun violence; and
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1 | WHEREAS, In January of 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, born June | ||||||
2 | 2, 1997, was tragically shot and killed at age 15; on June 4, | ||||||
3 | 2021, to recognize the 24th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton, | ||||||
4 | people across the United States will recognize National Gun | ||||||
5 | Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to Hadiya | ||||||
6 | Pendleton, other victims of gun violence, and
the loved ones | ||||||
7 | of those victims; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya's | ||||||
9 | friends who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by | ||||||
10 | wearing orange; they chose this color because hunters wear | ||||||
11 | orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the | ||||||
12 | woods, and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human | ||||||
13 | life; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear | ||||||
15 | orange on June 4th, the first Friday in June of 2021, to help | ||||||
16 | raise awareness about gun violence; and
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17 | WHEREAS, By wearing orange on June 4, 2021, Americans will | ||||||
18 | raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun | ||||||
19 | violence victims and survivors; therefore, be it
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20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
21 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
22 | we declare June 4, 2021 to be Gun Violence Awareness Day in the |
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1 | State of Illinois and encourage all citizens to support their | ||||||
2 | communities' efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun | ||||||
3 | violence and to honor and value human lives; and be it further
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4 | RESOLVED, That we renew our commitment to reduce gun | ||||||
5 | violence, pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the | ||||||
6 | wrong hands, and encourage responsible gun ownership to help | ||||||
7 | keep our children safe.
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