WHEREAS, every day, more than 120 Americans are killed by gun violence and more than 200 are shot and wounded, with an average of more than 17,000-gun homicides every year; and

WHEREAS, Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income countries; and

WHEREAS, New York State has 939-gun deaths every year, with a rate of 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people, a crisis that costs the state $11.4 billion each year, of which $301.2 million is paid by taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, gun homicides and assaults are concentrated in cities, with more than half of all firearm related gun deaths in the nation occurring in 127 cities; and

WHEREAS, municipalities across the nation, including in Erie County are working to end the senseless violence with evidence-based solutions; and

WHEREAS, protecting public safety in the communities they serve is mayors' highest responsibility; and

WHEREAS, support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes together with keeping guns away from people with dangerous histories; and

WHEREAS, mayors and law enforcement officers —in partnership with local violence intervention activists and resources —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, gun violence prevention is more important than ever as we see an increase in firearm homicides, and nonfatal shootings across the country, increased calls to domestic violence hotlines, and an increase in city gun violence; and

WHEREAS, the idea was inspired by a group of Hadiya's friends, who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange; they chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods, and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life; and