May 20, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 95 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page S2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 592--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF JUNE 
 5, 2020, AS ``NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY'' AND JUNE 2020 AS 
               ``NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Markey, 
Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Harris, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Murphy, 
Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reed, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Kaine, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Casey, Mr. Booker, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Merkley) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 592

       Whereas, each year in the United States, more than--
       (1) 37,500 individuals are killed and 73,300 individuals 
     are wounded by gunfire;
       (2) 13,300 individuals are killed in homicides involving 
     firearms;
       (3) 22,900 individuals die by suicide using a firearm; and
       (4) 470 individuals are killed in unintentional shootings;
       Whereas, since 1968, more individuals have died from guns 
     in the United States than have died on the battlefields of 
     all the wars in the history of the United States;
       Whereas, by 1 count, in 2019 in the United States, there 
     were 417 mass shooting incidents in which not fewer than 4 
     people were killed or wounded by gunfire;
       Whereas, in 2019 in the United States, there were at least 
     130 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 33 
     deaths and 77 injuries;
       Whereas, every year in the United States, approximately 
     3,000 children and teens are killed by gun violence and 
     13,000 children and teens are shot and wounded;
       Whereas approximately 7,600 people in the United States 
     under the age of 25 die because of gun violence annually, 
     including Hadiya Pendleton, who, in 2013, was killed at 15 
     years of age in Chicago, Illinois, while standing in a park;
       Whereas the deadly toll of daily gun violence has continued 
     even during the COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas, on June 5, 2020, to recognize the 23rd 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--
       (1) Hadiya Pendleton and other victims of gun violence; and
       (2) the loved ones of those victims; and
       Whereas June 2020 is an appropriate month to designate as 
     ``National Gun Violence Awareness Month'': Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports--
       (A) the designation of June 2020 as ``National Gun Violence 
     Awareness Month'' and the goals and ideals of that month; and
       (B) the designation of June 5, 2020, as ``National Gun 
     Violence Awareness Day'', in remembrance of the victims of 
     gun violence; and
       (2) calls on the people of the United States to--
       (A) promote greater awareness of gun violence and gun 
     safety;
       (B) wear orange, the color that hunters wear to show that 
     they are not targets, on June 5, 2020;
       (C) concentrate heightened attention on gun violence during 
     the summer months, when gun violence typically increases; and
       (D) bring community members and leaders together to discuss 
     ways to make communities safer.

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