Committee puts township in line with many municipalities across the country in attempts to stifle gun violence
The issue of gun violence is not a new topic of discussion in Harrison Township, especially of late.
At recent meetings, mainly Harrison Township Committee and Clearview Regional Board of Education meetings, the topic has carved out substantial time, leading those in attendance to take to the floor and voice their opinions about what should be done within the borders of the township and the schools.
At the April 16 committee meeting, the township moved to recognize the first Friday in June as National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
In the proclamation a line reads, “We renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the wrong hands, and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our children safe.”
Also within the proclamation is a narrative about the death of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago girl who was fatally shot one week after performing as a majorette at the second inauguration parade of President Barack Obama in 2013. Prosecutors say Pendleton died while in the crosshairs of a gang-related incident, one she was not part of, while taking shelter from rain in a Chicago park. The two men charged with the death of Pendleton begin trial on April 30 of this year.
Following the mention of Pendleton, the proclamation reads, “to help honor Hadiya — and the 96 Americans whose lives are cut short and the countless survivors who are injured by shootings every day — a national coalition of organizations has designated June 1, 2018, the first Friday in June, as the 4th National Gun Violence Awareness Day.”
Those who participate — individuals, groups and organizations across the nation — are encouraged to wear orange because that is the color hunters wear to announce their presence to other hunters.
“Orange is the color that symbolizes the value of human life,” the proclamation reads.
A nationwide organization called Wear Orange, which promotes proclamations such as this, was founded by friends of Pendleton after her death.
A partner organization of Wear Orange was in attendance at the April 16 meeting, representatives of a new Gloucester County chapter of Moms Demand Action. Representatives in attendance from the chapter included Michele Fecht, Elizabeth Vieira and Kelly Redkoles.
Moms Demand Action is a group founded in 2012 after the Sandy Hook massacre that took the lives of 26 people in Newtown, Conn. Moms Demand Action has chapters in every state and, according to the site, was “created to demand action from legislators, state and federal; companies; and educational institutions to establish common-sense gun reforms.”
At the end of the meeting during the public comments section, Fecht addressed the room and said, “We are a new chapter for Gloucester County. … We appreciate [the committee] recognizing this and being a town that will light up orange hopefully and do some activities to honor those lives of about 96 people a day who die from gun violence.”
Mayor Lou Manzo, after the initial reading of the proclamation, suggested the township committee and employees make an effort to promote National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the hopes to “paint the town orange.”
This proclamation follows the trend of past conversation in the township and school districts since the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., when 17 people, mainly students, were killed.
During the public comments portion of the February committee meeting, multiple residents spoke with concern about how to continue addressing the challenge of gun violence.
As previously reported, resident Hank Teti, a former Marine (1948–1952), urged township officials to discuss their overall feeling toward guns and safety and said, “I would hope that you would allow the [chief of police] to have a meeting with all of you and discuss what may be cautious things we could do in this township and send the information to the state and federal government.”
Resident Steve Grimshaw spoke at that same meeting and centered his comments on religion, urging individuals to look toward community churches, and said, “All the gun control in the world won’t change the human heart. Until that happens, we need self-control far sooner and far greater than we need gun control.”
During the last two Clearview Regional Board of Education meetings, the topic of further school safety took the reins of the agenda.
Clearview Regional School District was shutdown on March 14, the same day as National School WalkOut Day, an event to honor the victims of Florida and all victims of gun violence, due to what law enforcement eventually deemed an “unsubstantiated social media post” that raised fear of potential violence at the school.
