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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Wear Orange campaign and its partners across the |
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nation are urging Americans to join together in observance of the |
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first annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, 2015; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Since the late 1990s, deaths caused by firearms in |
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our nation have averaged more than 30,000 a year, which includes |
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some 11,500 homicides, 18,000 suicides, and 650 accidental deaths; |
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moreover, another 60,000 people are seriously injured by guns each |
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year; and |
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WHEREAS, The national Wear Orange campaign was founded by |
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classmates of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl in Chicago who |
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was shot and killed on January 29, 2013, only a week after she had |
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performed at the second inauguration of President Barack Obama; in |
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her honor, her classmates began urging others in the community to |
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wear orange, the color hunters wear for safety; and |
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WHEREAS, On the first annual National Gun Violence Awareness |
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Day, the Wear Orange campaign is being joined by nearly 50 partner |
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organizations to encourage individuals to wear orange on June 2 in |
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remembrance of those who died in firearms incidents and to support |
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the goal of ending gun violence in our communities; and |
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WHEREAS, By turning the color orange into a symbol of the |
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value of human life, the Wear Orange campaign is inspiring |
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Americans to work toward the worthwhile goal of transforming our |
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country into one where every person can live free from gun violence; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize June 2, 2015, as National Gun Violence |
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Awareness Day in Texas. |