[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 74 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19021-19022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10135]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 19021]]
Proclamation 6989 of April 15, 1997
National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
During National Crime Victims' Rights Week, Americans
in communities across the country join together to
honor victims and survivors, to remember their pain,
and to recognize their many contributions to improving
our criminal justice system and helping others affected
by crime. It is also an occasion for us to acknowledge
our significant progress in securing crucial rights and
services for crime victims.
As we reflect on the events of this past year, we think
of all our fellow citizens who became victims of crime
on our streets, at home, in our neighborhoods, in our
schools, in our workplaces, and even in our sacred
places of worship. We remember the images of dozens of
mostly African American churches being consumed in
flames, and we recall church leaders and their
congregations, representing all denominations and
races, reaching out to invite healing and rebuilding--
not in isolation, but in an extraordinary spirit of
community and unity. We also remember the many
contributions of crime victims in pioneering crime
prevention programs in our schools and working to
strengthen our laws and to enlighten all of us about
the needs of all crime victims.
Through the dedicated efforts of crime victims and
their advocates, criminal justice workers, and
responsive legislators, we have made important strides
in the struggle against violence. The Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 allocated an
increase in resources for criminal justice programs,
deploying thousands of new police officers on our
streets. The Brady Bill has prevented over 225,000
felons, fugitives, and stalkers from buying handguns
since it was enacted. And the Community Notification
Act, known as ``Megan's Law,'' is helping us protect
our most vulnerable citizens by informing communities
of the presence of convicted pedophiles. With community
notification, we are working to prevent cases like that
of the Act's namesake, Megan Kanka, a 7 year-old who
died at the hands of a repeat sex offender released
into an unsuspecting community. With these and other
preventive measures, we've managed to reduce the rate
of violent crime for 5 straight years and to restore
hope of reaching our goal of a peaceful America.
We can also take heart in our efforts to assist victims
in need of justice and healing in the aftermath of
violent crimes. The Violence Against Women Act, a
historic and comprehensive plan targeted at ending
crimes against women, has provided much-needed services
to countless domestic violence victims and their
children. Likewise, the National Domestic Violence
Hotline, established last year, has responded to more
than 73,000 calls for assistance from around the
country. As a result of over $500 million in deposits
to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in fiscal 1996, the
States will receive more than three times as much in
Federal funds as they have received in any previous
year to support local victim assistance programs. And
the Antiterrorism Act has guaranteed restitution to
victims of Federal crimes and mass violence; it has
already provided substantial assistance to victims of
the Oklahoma City bombing.
[[Page 19022]]
This year, we can take one more historic step to ensure
that victims throughout our country are guaranteed the
fundamental rights to be present at proceedings, to be
informed of significant developments in their cases and
of their rights, and to be heard at sentencing and
other appropriate times throughout the criminal justice
process. The Congress should pass a Victims' Rights
Amendment to the United States Constitution that will,
when ratified by the States, ensure that crime victims
are at the center of the criminal justice process, not
on the outside looking in.
We must stand united in caring for and assisting crime
victims throughout our country.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 13 through April 19,
1997, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I urge
all Americans to follow in the example of victim
advocates and reaffirm our common purpose to protect
and comfort one another in times of hardship--not only
during this special week but also throughout the year.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-10135
Filed 4-16-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P