[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
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 26, 1999 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
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
