[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 77 (Wednesday, April 22, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20051-20052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10931]
[[Page 20049]]
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Part VII
The President
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Proclamation 7084--National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 1998
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 / Wednesday, April 22, 1998 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 20051]]
Proclamation 7084 of April 20, 1998
National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 1998
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Every day, thousands of Americans become victims of
crime. Many suffer physical injury, and most experience
emotional scars that may never fully heal. And all
victims of crime, and their families and friends, often
remain troubled by feelings of vulnerability and
concerned about their personal safety.
Five years ago, my Administration made a commitment to
take back our streets from criminals and to combat the
crime and violence that affects so many Americans. With
the Crime Act, the Brady Act, the Violence Against
Women Act, and other tough legislation, we have put
into action a comprehensive anticrime strategy that
includes community policing, antigang programs, and
strong penalties for criminals.
Our strategy is working. Crime rates across the country
are at a 25-year low. Violent crimes and property
crimes have decreased, and the murder rate is down
dramatically. While we can take pride in this progress,
we cannot afford to become complacent. We must build on
the anticrime programs we have put into place if we are
to win the war against crime.
As part of our continuing efforts, this year the
Department of Justice is awarding more than $135
million in grants under the Violence Against Women
program to help State and local authorities reduce
domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. These
funds will enable communities to train more police,
hire prosecutors, and provide assistance to the victims
of such crimes. Earlier this month, after thorough
study, the Secretary of the Treasury concluded that we
should ban more than 50 kinds of modified assault
weapons because they accept large-capacity military
magazines. By keeping these weapons off our streets and
out of the hands of criminals, we will take another
crucial step toward halting the scourge of gun violence
that has taken such a tragic toll on America's children
and families.
During National Crime Victims' Rights Week, we call to
mind those whose lives have been so abruptly and often
violently changed. This annual observance is also a
powerful reminder of the extraordinary capacity of our
citizens to face adversity and overcome it. Across
America, victims of crime have refused to become
victims of a criminal justice system that too often
ignores or compromises their rights while protecting
the rights of criminals.
With courage and determination, crime victims and their
dedicated advocates have succeeded in winning
constitutional amendments in 29 States that guarantee
such fundamental rights as protection from further
harm, which includes keeping victims and accused
criminals in separate rooms during court proceedings;
the right of victims to call upon law enforcement if
they feel they are being harassed or intimidated in
connection with a pending case; and the right to be
notified of a convicted criminal's release from
incarceration. And after decades of advocacy, a
proposed Federal constitutional amendment for victims
now lies before the Congress. We have the opportunity--
and the responsibility--to amend the United States
Constitution to ensure that the rights of victims are
honored in every court throughout our Nation.
[[Page 20052]]
This year, our observance of National Crime Victims'
Rights Week coincides with the anniversary of the 1995
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City. That tragedy brought home to an entire
Nation the extraordinary suffering and grief that can
be rendered by a single, senseless, criminal act. In
remembering the many victims of this brutal crime, let
us pledge to sustain our efforts to reduce violent
crime, to provide comfort and support to its victims as
they strive to rebuild their lives, and to keep
victims' rights a primary concern in America's criminal
justice system.
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 19 through April 25,
1998, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I urge
all Americans to remember crime victims and their
families by working to reduce violence, to assist those
harmed by crime, and to make our homes and communities
safer places in which to live and raise our families.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-second.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 98-10931
Filed 4-21-98; 11:13 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
