PROCLAMATION 7049—NOV. 6, 1997 111 STAT. 3007 the Congress is considering historic legislation that would provide the resources and statutory authority for financial incentives, technical assistance, and improved judicial decision-making for children in foster care. As a Nation, we have before us an opportunity to make a real dif- ference in the lives of our most vulnerable children. We must continue to promote public awareness of the need for adoptive families and to help families make the choice to provide loving, permanent homes for the many children who otherwise must continue to wait. We must also strengthen our support of those families who do choose to adopt. As we observe National Adoption Month, we reaffirm our commitment to adoption as a new beginning for thousands of children, and we celebrate the many American families who have embraced these children by accepting the rewards and responsibilities of adoption. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 1997 as National Adoption Month. I urge all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities to honor adoptive families and to participate in efforts to find permanent homes for waiting children. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety- seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-second. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7040 of November 6, 1097 National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence, 1997 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On this day in America, as on every other day, children will die by gunfire, and many of them will be killed because other children are pulling the trigger. This is a stark and sad reality and a call to each of us, not only to raise public awareness of a national tragedy, but also to do everything within our power to end the killing. There is some encouraging news. The Department of Justice recently reported that violent crime among youths dropped by more than 9 percent in 1996. However, we still have a long way to go in our efforts to save lives and help ensure a brighter future for our children. One of my Administration's highest law enforcement priorities is to protect our children from violent crime, and we are especially concerned with stopping crimes committed by young people. I am pleased that eight of the Nation's largest gun manufacturers have responded to my Administration's call to provide child safety lock devices with every handgun they sell. We proposed a $60 million increase for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program this year, which reaches almost
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