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

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1		violence; and
2		WHEREAS, In January of 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was
3		tragically shot and killed at the age of 15; to acknowledge her
4		26th birthday, people across the United States will recognize
5		National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, 2023 and wear
6		orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun
7		violence as well as the loved ones of those victims; and
8		WHEREAS, The idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya
9		Pendleton's friends who asked their classmates to commemorate
10		her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because
11		hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters
12		when out in the woods and because orange is a color that
13		symbolizes the value of human life; and
14		WHEREAS, Anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear
15		orange on June 2nd, the first Friday in June of 2023, to help
16		raise awareness about gun violence; and
17		WHEREAS, By wearing orange on June 2, 2023, Americans will
18		raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun
19		violence victims and survivors; and
20		WHEREAS, To help keep families sand communities safe, it
21		is of the utmost importance to make a commitment to reduce gun

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