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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, Protecting public safety in the communities they
8serve is among a legislator's highest responsibilities; and
9 WHEREAS, Support for the Second Amendment rights of
10law-abiding citizens goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns away
11from people that should not have them; and
12 WHEREAS, Gun violence prevention is more important than
13ever as there has been an increase in firearm homicides and
14nonfatal shootings across the country, an increase in calls to
15domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in city gun
16violence; and
17 WHEREAS, In January of 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was
18tragically shot and killed at the age of 15; to acknowledge her
1926th birthday, people across the United States will recognize
20National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, 2023 and wear

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1orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun
2violence as well as the loved ones of those victims; and
3 WHEREAS, The idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya
4Pendleton's friends who asked their classmates to commemorate
5her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because
6hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters
7when out in the woods and because orange is a color that
8symbolizes the value of human life; and
9 WHEREAS, Anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear
10orange on June 2nd, the first Friday in June of 2023, to help
11raise awareness about gun violence; and
12 WHEREAS, By wearing orange on June 2, 2023, Americans will
13raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun
14violence victims and survivors; and
15 WHEREAS, To help keep families sand communities safe, it
16is of the utmost importance to make a commitment to reduce gun
17violence, to pledge to do all that is possible to keep firearms
18out of the hands of people who should not have access to them,
19and to encourage responsible gun ownership; therefore, be it
20 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
21HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that

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1we declare June 2, 2023 as "Gun Violence Awareness Day" in the
2State of Illinois; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That we encourage all citizens to support their
4communities' efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun
5violence and to honor and value human lives.