[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 218 (Wednesday, November 12, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60637-60638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29907]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 60637]]
Proclamation 7049 of November 6, 1997
National Day of Concern About Young People and
Gun Violence, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On this day in America, as on every other day, children
will die by gunfire, and many of them will be killed
because other children are pulling the trigger. This is
a stark and sad reality and a call to each of us, not
only to raise public awareness of a national tragedy,
but also to do everything within our power to end the
killing.
There is some encouraging news. The Department of
Justice recently reported that violent crime among
youths dropped by more than 9 percent in 1996. However,
we still have a long way to go in our efforts to save
lives and help ensure a brighter future for our
children.
One of my Administration's highest law enforcement
priorities is to protect our children from violent
crime, and we are especially concerned with stopping
crimes committed by young people. I am pleased that
eight of the Nation's largest gun manufacturers have
responded to my Administration's call to provide child
safety lock devices with every handgun they sell. We
proposed a $60 million increase for the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools Program this year, which reaches almost
all of our Nation's school districts. These funds will
help communities protect students from violence. My
Administration also proposed funding for after-school
initiatives in communities across the country to give
our young people something positive to say yes to, to
keep them off the streets, and to keep them out of
trouble. Through our Anti-Gang and Youth Violence
Strategy, we are working to provide for more
prosecutors and probation officers, tougher penalties,
and better gang prevention efforts.
But government alone cannot guarantee our children will
grow up free from violence and fear. Parents, teachers,
religious and community leaders, businesses, youth
organizations, and especially young people themselves
have a vital part to play. Parents and other adults
must set a good example for the children in their care
and teach them right from wrong. Adults who own a gun
have a responsibility to keep that weapon out of the
hands of our youth. Communities must unite to keep
schools safe and to provide young people with positive,
fulfilling activities after school and during summers
and holidays. Most important, young people themselves
have a duty to learn that violence solves nothing; to
act responsibly when confronted by peer pressure by
relying on their own good judgment, and to encourage
their friends and classmates to resolve conflicts
peacefully.
I am heartened by the knowledge that hundreds of
thousands of young Americans across the country will
have an opportunity on this National Day of Concern to
sign the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. By making
this earnest promise never to take a gun to school,
never to use a gun to settle a dispute, and to use
their influence to keep their friends from using guns,
these young people will take a giant step toward a
brighter, safer future.
[[Page 60638]]
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 November 6, 1997, as a
National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun
Violence. On this day, I call upon young Americans in
classrooms and communities across the country to make a
solemn decision about their future by signing the
Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. I further urge all
Americans to help our Nation's young people avoid
violence and grow up to be healthy, happy, productive
adults.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixth day of November, 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-second.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-29907
Filed 11-10-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
