[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 26, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 57767-57768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28133]



[[Page 57765]]

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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 7243--National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun 
Violence, 1999
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 26, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 57767]]

                Proclamation 7243 of October 21, 1999

                
National Day of Concern About Young People and 
                Gun Violence, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Events of the past year have dramatically demonstrated 
                the continuing need for a National Day of Concern About 
                Young People and Gun Violence. In communities across 
                our country, we saw young lives cut short by gunfire. 
                We watched, horrified, as the same scene played out 
                repeatedly in classrooms, school yards, and places of 
                worship. Out of cities like Fort Worth, Texas; Conyers, 
                Georgia; Granada Hills, California; and Littleton, 
                Colorado, came the images that have become painfully 
                familiar--racing ambulances, terrified children, 
                grieving families. As a national community, we shared a 
                sense of devastating loss too immediate to comprehend. 
                Behind these headlines, every day in our Nation 12 
                young people die as a result of gun violence.

                In response to this disturbing cycle, my Administration 
                has taken comprehensive action against youth violence. 
                Last October, we held the first-ever White House 
                Conference on School Safety, where I launched a new 
                initiative to increase the number of safety officers in 
                schools and unveiled a new plan to help schools respond 
                to violence. After the tragedy in Littleton, we held a 
                Summit on Youth Violence at which we launched a 
                national campaign to end youth violence.

                Earlier this month, I established the White House 
                Council on Youth Violence to ensure the effective 
                coordination of the many agencies and programs of the 
                Federal Government that address youth violence issues. 
                In addition, we have selected 54 communities to receive 
                more than $100 million in Safe Schools/Healthy Students 
                grants in an effort to find and fund the best ideas to 
                reduce youth violence through community-based 
                collaborative efforts. These funds will allow 
                communities to implement important measures such as 
                hiring more security personnel, installing security 
                equipment, and improving student mental health 
                services.

                I have also called upon the Congress to do its part by 
                passing a juvenile crime bill that closes the dangerous 
                gun show loophole, requires child safety locks for 
                guns, and bans the importation of large-capacity 
                ammunition clips. I will continue to fight hard to win 
                passage of these commonsense measures to keep guns out 
                of the wrong hands.

                As we observe this year's National Day of Concern About 
                Young People and Gun Violence, I encourage every 
                student in America to sign a Student Pledge Against Gun 
                Violence, a solemn oath never to bring a gun to school 
                and never to use a gun to settle a dispute. More than 
                one million students signed the pledge last year, and I 
                hope that many more will participate this year. I also 
                urge all Americans to make their voices heard and 
                support efforts to reduce gun violence. We need every 
                sector of our society--families, educators, 
                communities, businesses, religious leaders, 
                policymakers, and members of law enforcement--to join 
                together in this crusade to end the cycle of violence 
                and create a brighter, safer future for our children.

[[Page 57768]]

                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 herebyproclaim October 21, 1999, as a 
                National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun 
                Violence. On this day, I call upon all Americans to 
                commit themselves anew to helping our young people 
                avoid violence, to setting a good example, and to 
                restoring our schools and neighborhoods as safe havens 
                for learning and recreation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-28133
Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P