Santa Fe civic and political leaders gathered to proclaim June 3 as Gun Violence Awareness Day, according to KOB 4.

It was largely symbolic, but as Santa Fe City Councilor Amanda Chavez put it, at least it’s a start.

Alan Webber, the mayor of Santa Fe, signed the proclamation with the hope that bringing awareness to gun violence in Santa Fe will bring it to a halt.

The proclamation was made in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and 2 teachers were shot and killed by an armed man. The central theme of the gathering was that gun violence awareness cannot be practiced on just one day; it has to be recognized every day. 

“As a community, 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,” Jamie Cassutt, a city councilor, said as she read from the proclamation.

Cassutt has a personal stake in this issue as the mother of a young child.

“It is really about, ‘How do we protect our children?’” she said. “How do we protect the children that are not biologically ours but who we have taken in as our own? In this community that is all the children that we know and as well as the ones that we serve: our constituents, our students, our friends. They are the future and we have to protect them.”

Chavez said the spotlight on gun violence awareness cannot fade after a few days. 

“We as a community, as leaders, advocates, standing together and saying, ‘Enough is enough’ is a start,” she said. “We must make noise by advocating and educating on this pressing issue.”

City officials believe that committing to ending gun violence and encouraging responsible gun usage will reduce gun violence and protect children in the community.