Mayor Brodeur Declares First Weekend in June to be Gun Violence Awareness Weekend in Melrose

PROCLAMATION DECLARING THE FIRST WEEKEND IN JUNE TO BE NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS WEEKEND:

This proclamation declares the first weekend in June to be National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend in the City of Melrose to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and to declare that we as a country must do more to reduce gun violence. 

WHEREAS, on June 1, 2022, a man entered a medical building on the campus of St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and murdered four people, including the doctor who performed surgery on him, with two guns including an assault rifle that he had just recently purchased; and

WHEREAS, on May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old armed with an assault weapon murdered 19 children and two adult teachers during a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas; and 

WHEREAS, on May 14, 2022, a racist attack at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, left 10 Black residents dead from injuries caused by another 18-year-old individual armed with an assault rifle; and 

WHEREAS, the United States has seen more than 200 mass shootings in 2022, with 27 occurring at schools, a rate of frequency that averages approximately 10 mass shootings a week; and 

WHEREAS, a recent report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions which analyzed CDC firearm fatality data found that guns were the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020; and

WHEREAS, every day, more than 110 Americans are killed by gun violence, alongside more than 200 who are shot and wounded, and on average there are nearly 16,000 gun homicides every year; and

WHEREAS, Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries; and

WHEREAS, gun violence prevention is more important than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate gun violence after more than two years of increased gun sales, increased calls to suicide and domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in gun violence; and

WHEREAS, cities across the nation are working to end gun violence with evidence-based solutions and to protect our communities from the senseless carnage that results from unfettered access to guns; and 

WHEREAS, in January 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at age 15; and on June 3, 2022 to recognize the 25th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton (born: June 2, 1997), people across the United States will recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day and wear orange in tribute to Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun violence, as well as the loved ones of those victims; and

WHEREAS, the idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya’s friends, who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life; and 

WHEREAS, anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange from June 3-5, 2022, to help raise awareness about gun violence; and 

WHEREAS, by wearing orange from June 3-5, 2022, Melrosians will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Mayor Paul Brodeur of the City of Melrose declares the first weekend in June to be National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend and encourages all Melrose residents to support efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human lives.  

June 2, 2022