WHEREAS it is the intention of the Mayor and Council of Cherry Hill Township to focus attention on noteworthy occasions and observances; and
WHEREAS the issue of gun violence has risen to the highest level of our national attention here in the United States, where every day, 96 Americans are killed by gun violence, and countless others are injured; and
WHEREAS Americans are 25 times more likely to be murdered with guns than people in other developed countries, an epidemic with no clear and easy answer or solution; and
WHEREAS mayors and law enforcement officers know their communities best, are the most familiar with local criminal activity and how to address it, and are best positioned to understand how to keep their citizens safe; and
WHEREAS in January 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a teenager who marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade and was tragically shot and killed just weeks later, would have celebrated her 21st birthday this June; and
WHEREAS to help honor Hadiya – and the 96 Americans whose lives are cut short and the countless survivors who are injured by shootings every day – a national coalition of organizations has designated June 1st, 2018, the first Friday in June, as the 4th National Gun Violence Awareness Day; and
WHEREAS as a symbol of solidarity and a way to honor those injured by or lost to gun violence, members of the Cherry Hill community have committed to wear orange on this day; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of Cherry Hill Township join with millions of Americans in renewing our commitment do all we can on a local level to promote and encourage responsible gun ownership, to help keep our children and our community safe, and to stand in solidarity with those communities in our region and throughout New Jersey and the United States who are dealing with this crisis on a very local, personal level.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHUCK CAHN, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Mayor of the Township of Cherry Hill, County of Camden, State of New Jersey, do hereby proclaim Friday, June 1, 2018, to be
Gun Violence Awareness Day
in the Township of Cherry Hill, and do encourage all citizens to join with me and the members of Township Council in working together as a community to acknowledge the value of human life; in working to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence in our own backyard; and in offering support to those we know who may have been affected by the gun epidemic, not just here in South Jersey, but throughout the nation.
