2020-32 - Gun Violence Awareness Day

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BUIlock, Kepple, Litten., Neff, O'Malley, Rader,, RESOLUTION NO. 2020-32 BY: -sLriachner A RESOLUTION to join together with concerned citizens, advocates, and survivors of gun violence to declare June 5. 2020 as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Lakewood, Ohio. WHEREAS, 4.6 million children in the United States live in homes with unsecured, loaded firearms, and; WHEREAS, every year in the United States, nearly 350 children gain access to a firearm and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. Additionally, every year more than 600 children aged 17 and under die by suicide with a gun, and; WHEREAS, the risk of gun violence for children has likely increased during the COVID- 19 pandemic since schools closed in March, families are abiding by stay-at-home orders, and %_1 W first-time gun purchases have increased in Ohio and elsewhere during this time, and; WHEREAS, every adult can play a role in keeping kids and communities safer by storing guns responsibly, initiating conversations with other adults and caregivers about safe gun storage and reminding children that any situation where there is an unsupervised gun is a dangerous situation, and; WHEREAS, National Gun Violence Awareness Day has been commemorated since 2015 when a group of Chicago teens rallied together upon the untimely death of their classmate Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed one week after marching in President Obama's second inaugural parade. Now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO: Section 1. That this Council does hereby declare June 5, 2020 as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Lakewood, Ohio and calls on gun owners to ensure that all guns are stored responsibly — locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition. Section 2. That this Council would like to take the opportunity to promote the free and confidential services of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline which can be reached at 1-800- 273-8255, Cuyahoga County 24/7 Crisis Hotline 216-623-6888 and the national Crisis Text Line which can be reached by texting "4hope" to 741 741. Section 3. That this Council directs interested and concerned citizens to the resources of the ' Be SMART program for further information on responsible gun ownership and how to have challenging conversations with friends and caregivers about gun safety. Section 4. It is found and determined that all formal actions of this Council concerning and relating to the passage of this resolution were adopted in an open meeting of this Council, and that all such deliberations of this Council and any of its committees that resulted in such formal action, were in meetings open to the public, in compliance with all legal requirements.