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WHEREAS, we, the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, do offer our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the parents, loved ones, families and community members of Newtown, Connecticut, who have been affected by the Sandy Hook elementary mass shooting on Friday, December 14th, 2012, and who have endured a loss impossible to imagine; and
WHEREAS, we recognize that our nation has endured senseless tragedies like this far too often; and
WHEREAS, we do mourn the loss of innocence and of children taken from us with their entire lives in front of them, and we honor the sacrifice of educators who, in the line of duty, exhibited unimaginable bravery in their attempt to protect their students; and
WHEREAS, we respectfully remember those educators who died protecting the innocents: Dawn Hochsprung, Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Rouseeau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy; and
WHEREAS, we respectfully remember the innocents taken from us: Charlotte Bacon, age 6,
Daniel Barden, age 7, Olivia Rose Engel, age 6, Josephine Gay, age 7, Ana M. Marquez-Greene, age 6, Dylan Hockley, age 6, Madeleine F. Hsu, age 6, Catherine V. Hubbard, age 6, Chase Kowalski, age 7, Jesse Lewis, age 6, James Mattioli, age 6, Grace McDonnell, age 7, Emilie Parker, age 6, Jack Pinto, age 6, Noah Pozner, age 6, Caroline Previdi, age 6, Jessica Rekos, age 6, Avielle Richman, age 6, Benjamin Wheeler, age 6, Allison N. Wyatt, age 6, and;
WHERAS, we acknowledge the work of Newtown's first responders, and thank those who had to face the aftermath of this tragedy and did so with dignity and courage; and
WHEREAS, this Council does support President Obama's call for meaningful action and for an honest and comprehensive national discourse to engage our fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in a effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this; and
WHEREAS, without some meaningful action on gun violence in this country, we somberly acknowledge that the number of deaths projected to occur over the next four years due to gun violence within our nation's borders will be over 48,000, a number greater than those lost in the Vietnam War; and
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that it is the will of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh to remember the innocence and honor the bravery of the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, December 14th;
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does stand in support of President Obama in calling for an open and honest national discourse on the violence plaguing our nation, and that we do this in the hopes of effecting change to save lives and ensure the life, liberty and security of all Americans.