JUNE 4th IS NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY
During the May 17 City Council meeting, Mayor Marilyn Hatley presented a proclamation to representatives from Moms Demand Action designating June 4 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, honoring and remembering all victims and survivors of gun violence, and acknowledging that we must do more to reduce gun violence.
Each day, more than 100 Americans are killed by gun violence, alongside more than 230 who are shot and wounded.
Americans are 25 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries.
South Carolina records an average of 908 gun deaths annually, with a rate of about 18 deaths per 100,000 people. South Carolina has the 11th highest rate of gun deaths in the United States.
Support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns away from people with dangerous histories.
It appears that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem of gun violence nationwide, after more than a year of increased gun sales, increased calls to suicide and domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in gun violence in cities.
National Gun Violence Awareness Day also honors the memory of Hadiya Pendleton, tragically shot and killed in January 2013 at the age of 15. June 4, 2021, would be her 24th birthday and, inspired by a group of her former classmates, people nationwide are asked to wear orange in tribute to her and all victims of gun violence. Hadiya’s classmates chose the color orange because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters, and it is a color symbolizing the value of human life.