Over 31,000 SC Students to participate in Pledge Against Gun Violence

United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated today that on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), along their local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, will visit schools across South Carolina to meet with students as a part of South Carolina’s 17th Annual Student Pledge Against Gun Violence. With a focus on keeping their schools and communities safe, students in middle school and high school are signing a voluntary pledge promising that they will never take a gun to school, will never resolve a dispute with a gun, and will use their influence to prevent friends from using guns to resolve disputes. Elementary school children are making a simpler commitment, pledging that if they see a gun they will not touch it, they will tell a teacher or a trusted adult, and they will assume that any gun they see might be loaded. The Student Pledge Against Gun Violence is a national program that recognizes the role young people, through their own decisions, can play in reducing gun violence. The program provides a means for beginning the conversation with young people about gun violence and encourages important conversation among young people about gun safety and respectful ways to resolve disputes. Students from around the country will join together in pledging to do their part. For additional information concerning the pledge, visit the national Student Pledge website at www.pledge.org. As it has done since 2002, the USAO reached out to all South Carolina law enforcement agencies and schools to make the pledges available to interested schools. This pledge effort is part of Project CeaseFire, which is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. One year ago, in October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all USAOs to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001. The following South Carolina schools and local law enforcement agencies are participating in this year’s pledge on Oct. 17. A total of 59 schools across the state are participating in this year’s pledge event, some of which requested speakers for their pledge event, as noted below with an “asterisk”. For information on events scheduled for a particular school, please contact that school directly. The USAO would like to thank the FBI, ATF, and United States Marshals Service for their assistance in providing speakers to the 28 requesting schools. For additional information concerning the pledge, visit the national Student Pledge web site at www.pledge.org.