112 STAT. 3814 PROCLAMATION 7135—OCT. 8, 1998 many other measures, we have strived to protect America's youth from being either the perpetrators or the victims of gun violence. While government can and must be an active partner in the effort to prevent youth violence, the real key to ending the killing is in the hands of young Americans themselves. Every yoxmg person must assume personal responsibility for avoiding violent confrontation, have the strength of character to walk away from a dispute before it turns deadly, and have the courage and common sense to refuse to participate in gang activities, to use drugs, or to carry or use a gun. As part of our nationwide observance of National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence, I urge students across America to voluntarily sign a "Student Pledge Against Gun Violence" as an acknowledgment of these responsibilities. This pledge is a solemn promise by young people never to bring a gun to school, never to use a gun to settle a dispute, and to discourage their friends from using grnis. By keeping this promise and giving one another the chance to grow to healthy, productive adulthood, young Americans will be taking an enormous step toward a stronger, safer futiure for themselves and om- Nation. 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 October 8, 1998, as a National Day of Concern About Young People and Gun Violence. On this day, I call upon all Americans to commit themselves anew to helping our young people avoid violence, to setting a good example, and to restoring our schools and neighborhoods as safe havens for learning and recreation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-third. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7135 of October 8, 1998 Leif Erikson Day, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Almost a thousand years ago, the great Norse explorer Leif Erikson first set foot on the North American continent. In commemorating Leif Erikson Day each year, we honor the pioneering spirit of this son of Iceland and grandson of Norway. We recall the daring of the Viking seafarers, who saw the ocean not as a boundary but as a gateway to another world, and we pay tribute to the courage of their descendants who, centuries later would brave their own ocean journeys to find a new life in America. This thirst for adventure has remained a fundamental trait of the American character since om* earliest days as a Nation. But men and women of the Nordic countries brought other important strengths to their
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