[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2937-S2938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 524--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF JUNE 1 
THROUGH JUNE 3, 2018 AS ``NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS WEEKEND'' AND 
         JUNE 2018 AS ``NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Hirono, 
Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reed, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Markey, Mr. Carper, Mr. Murphy, 
Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Coons, Mrs. 
Murray, and Mr. Brown) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 524

       Whereas, in the United States each year, more than--
       (1) 35,000 individuals are killed and 80,000 individuals 
     are injured by gunfire;
       (2) 12,000 individuals are killed in homicides involving 
     firearms;
       (3) 21,000 individuals commit suicide by using firearms; 
     and
       (4) 500 individuals are killed in unintentional shootings;
       Whereas, since 1968, more individuals have died from guns 
     in the United States than have died on the battlefields of 
     all the wars in the history of the United States;
       Whereas, by one count, in 2017 in the United States, there 
     were--
       (1) 346 mass shooting incidents in which not fewer than 4 
     people were killed or wounded by gunfire; and
       (2) 64 incidents in which a gun was fired in a school or 
     college;

[[Page S2938]]

       Whereas gun violence typically escalates during the summer 
     months;
       Whereas nearly 2,700 children and teens are killed by gun 
     violence every year, including Hadiya Pendleton, who, in 
     2013, was killed at 15 years of age while standing in a 
     Chicago park; and
       Whereas, during the weekend of June 1 through June 3, 2018, 
     the weekend in which Hadiya Pendleton would have had her 21st 
     birthday, people across the United States will recognize 
     National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend and wear orange in 
     tribute to Hadiya and other victims of gun violence and the 
     loved ones of those victims: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports--
       (A) the designation of June 2018 as ``National Gun Violence 
     Awareness Month'' and the goals and ideals of that month; and
       (B) the designation of June 1 through June 3, 2018 as 
     ``National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend'' in remembrance of 
     the victims of gun violence; and
       (2) calls on the people of the United States to--
       (A) promote greater awareness of gun violence and gun 
     safety;
       (B) wear orange, the color that hunters wear to show that 
     they are not targets, during the weekend of June 1 through 
     June 3, 2018;
       (C) concentrate heightened attention on gun violence during 
     the summer months, when gun violence typically increases; and
       (D) bring community members and leaders together to discuss 
     ways to make communities safer.

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