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1999 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 817
Recognizing the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 8, 1999
Agreed to by the Senate, February 18, 1999

WHEREAS, on October 8, 1998, more than one million students nationally, and more than 55,000 in Virginia, signed the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence, part of the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence; and

WHEREAS, the Day of National Concern has been supported by proclamation of the President of the United States and the governors of several states, by a United States Senate resolution, and by numerous educational, religious, civic, and medical organizations; and

WHEREAS, an attempt to end violence among young people cannot succeed without the participation of the young people affected; and

WHEREAS, October 21, 1999, has been established as the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence, a date which appropriately coincides with Safe Schools Week; and

WHEREAS, on that day young people throughout Virginia and around the nation will be given the opportunity to sign the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence, promising never to use a gun to resolve a dispute and to discourage their friends from using guns to settle disputes; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Parent Teacher Association/Parent Teacher Student Association (PTA/PTSA), the United Way, Virginians Against Handgun Violence, Mothers Against Weapons, the Junior League of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, and others have actively encouraged students to sign the pledge and have promoted the Day of Concern in their various communities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly recognize October 21, 1999, as the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Virginia PTA/PTSA, the United Way, Virginians Against Handgun Violence, Mothers Against Weapons, and the Junior League of Norfolk and Virginia Beach be commended for their laudable efforts to stem the tide of youth violence in America; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That Virginia’s students be afforded the opportunity to sign the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the State Board of Education and to the superintendents of Virginia’s school divisions so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly in this matter and include the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence in their 1999-2000 school calendars.