Presidential Documents

60637

Federal Register

Vol. 62, No. 218

Wednesday, November 12, 1997

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 7049 of November 6, 1997

National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence, 1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On this day in America, as on every other day, children will die by gunfire,

and many of them will be killed because other children are pulling the

trigger. This is a stark and sad reality and a call to each of us, not only

to raise public awareness of a national tragedy, but also to do everything

within our power to end the killing.

There is some encouraging news. The Department of Justice recently reported

that violent crime among youths dropped by more than 9 percent in 1996.

However, we still have a long way to go in our efforts to save lives and

help ensure a brighter future for our children.

One of my Administration’s highest law enforcement priorities is to protect

our children from violent crime, and we are especially concerned with

stopping crimes committed by young people. I am pleased that eight of

the Nation’s largest gun manufacturers have responded to my Administration’s call to provide child safety lock devices with every handgun they

sell. We proposed a $60 million increase for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools

Program this year, which reaches almost all of our Nation’s school districts.

These funds will help communities protect students from violence. My

Administration also proposed funding for after-school initiatives in communities across the country to give our young people something positive to

say yes to, to keep them off the streets, and to keep them out of trouble.

Through our Anti-Gang and Youth Violence Strategy, we are working to

provide for more prosecutors and probation officers, tougher penalties, and

better gang prevention efforts.

But government alone cannot guarantee our children will grow up free

from violence and fear. Parents, teachers, religious and community leaders,

businesses, youth organizations, and especially young people themselves

have a vital part to play. Parents and other adults must set a good example

for the children in their care and teach them right from wrong. Adults

who own a gun have a responsibility to keep that weapon out of the

hands of our youth. Communities must unite to keep schools safe and

to provide young people with positive, fulfilling activities after school and

during summers and holidays. Most important, young people themselves

have a duty to learn that violence solves nothing; to act responsibly when

confronted by peer pressure by relying on their own good judgment, and

to encourage their friends and classmates to resolve conflicts peacefully.

I am heartened by the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of young

Americans across the country will have an opportunity on this National

Day of Concern to sign the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. By making

this earnest promise never to take a gun to school, never to use a gun

to settle a dispute, and to use their influence to keep their friends from

using guns, these young people will take a giant step toward a brighter,

safer future.
60638 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 1997 / Presidential Documents

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 November 6, 1997,

as a National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence.

On this day, I call upon young Americans in classrooms and communities

across the country to make a solemn decision about their future by signing

the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. I further urge all Americans

to help our Nation’s young people avoid violence and grow up to be healthy,

happy, productive adults.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of

November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven,

and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred

[FR Doc. 97–29907

Filed 11–10–97; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

and twenty-second.

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