By proclamation of the Board of Selectmen (BOS), Branford is recognizing national Gun Violence Awareness Day on Thursday, June 2. Wearing orange on the day signifies support.

The BOS was asked to consider making the proclamation in a letter sent by Representative Town Meeting minority leader Tracy Everson on behalf of the Democratic Caucus. At its June 1 meeting, by unaminous vote, the BOS approved a Gun Violence Awareness Day - June 2, 2022 proclamation which reads:

WHEREAS, in Connecticut during 2021, there were 238 gun-related deaths, the highest toll in more than a decade, and in 2020, gun-related injuries were the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States; and

WHEREAS, guns are the second-leading method of suicide in Connecticut, and gun-related suicides account for half of all Connecticut gun deaths; and

WHEREAS, some 1 million students ages 12 to 18 report having access to a loaded gun without adult permission and nearly 5 million children live in homes with an unlocked, loaded gun; and

WHEREAS, more than 80 percent of child gun-related suicides use a gun belonging to a family member and two-thirds of school shooters obtained the gun they used from their home or the home of a relative; and

WHEREAS, beyond the loss of life and the pain and suffering of survivors, there are countless thousands of family members and friends whose lives are forever scarred; and

WHEREAS, on December 14, 2012 in our home state, 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, were fatally shot, in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history; and

WHEREAS, on May 14, 2022, 10 people were fatally shot and 3 were injured, while grocery shopping in a neighborhood store near Buffalo, New York; and

WHEREAS, on May 24, 2022, 19 children and 2 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas were fatally shot in the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history; and

WHEREAS, this June 2nd marks the 25th birthday of Hadiya Pendleton, a teen who tragically became a victim of gun violence. Hadiya's friends chose to Wear Orange on her birthday because orange was Hadiya's favorite color and because hunters wear the color orange to announce themselves to other hunters for safety; and

WHEREAS, by participating in Wear Orange activities, we stand in solidarity with the communities of Newtown, Uvalde and dozens of other cities and towns across the nation that have experienced the tragedy of senseless mass shootings.

NOW THEREFORE, we, the Branford Board of Selectmen, do hereby declare June 2, 2022 Gun Violence Awareness Day in Branford and encourage residents to Wear Orange to call attention to the crisis of gun violence, signal our commitment to reducing gun violence in all its forms, and implore gun owners in our community to be responsible owners and properly secure any firearms in their home to prevent another senseless tragedy.