by Mike Knaak
editor@thenewsleaders.com
A St. Joseph woman’s effort to raise awareness about gun violence got another boost at the May 21 St. Joseph City Council meeting. The council voted 4-0 to recognize Friday, June 1 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day with a proclamation.
Cindy Abercrombie told council members more than 20 local businesses have agreed to use orange lighting on June 1 to support the gun safety issue.
Using orange comes from the hunting culture and represents the value of human life, Abercrombie told the council.
She asked the city light the water tower on June 1 with orange light as well as support a proclamation for Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Changing the light color with the current water tower lighting equipment won’t work. For example, St. Cloud’s new water tower is lit with LEDs so the color can be changed but the St. Joseph tower isn’t. Mayor Rick Schultz told Abercrombie the message would be added to the city’s website, cable channel and lighted sign board.
Abercrombie’s presentation and the draft proclamation included statistics on gun violence. Council members removed those details before approving a final version of the proclamation.
Cindy Abercrombie asked the St. Joseph City Council to recognize Friday, June 1, as Gun Violence Awareness Day. She wore orange as the symbolic color adopted to highlight the issue.