Proclamation

WHEREAS, the citizens of Missouri join other Americans in each of our United States in mourning the deaths of 20 innocent school children and six dedicated educators, who were the victims of a horrific act of violence committed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on the morning of Friday, December 14, 2012; and

WHEREAS, the loss of these innocent lives must strengthen our resolve as a free society to address and prevent gun violence, to recognize and treat mental illness, and to ensure that our schools remain safe environments for learning for students, teachers and staff; and

WHEREAS, murders and other acts of criminal violence exact a terrible toll on our state and country each day, and that according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2011, 8,583 Americans were murdered with firearms, including 276 in Missouri; and

WHEREAS, news accounts remind us on an almost daily basis of the gun violence that continues to impact Missouri, including the murder of Washington County Deputy Sheriff Christopher Parsons on December 15, 2012.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, do hereby encourage all Missourians to observe

A MOMENT OF SILENCE

at 9:30 a.m., Central Standard Time, on Friday, December 21, 2012, in order to remember the victims of violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School as well as the victims of gun violence who lose their lives each day in Missouri and across the United States.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri, in the City of Jefferson, this 20th day of December, 2012.

[Jay Nixon's signature]
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Governor

Attest:

[Robin Carnahan's signature]
Secretary of State

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