1-1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 419 1-2 WHEREAS, The Texas Council on Family Violence is a 1-3 nonprofit membership organization of family violence programs, 1-4 battering intervention and prevention programs, and concerned 1-5 individuals in Texas; and 1-6 WHEREAS, On April 1, 1997, Texans will act to end family 1-7 violence by drawing attention to the thousands of victims of 1-8 family violence in Texas and across the country; and 1-9 WHEREAS, A procession will form at Wooldridge Square on 1-10 that day, and participants will walk up Congress Avenue to the 1-11 State Capitol carrying 160 life-size wooden female 1-12 silhouettes--Silent Witnesses--that will be unveiled during the 1-13 procession; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Thirty-six percent of all women murdered in Texas 1-15 are killed by their male partners, which is higher than the 1-16 national average of 28 percent; and 1-17 WHEREAS, The Texas Council on Family Violence created the 1-18 life-size wooden silhouettes, each bearing the name and story of 1-19 a Texas woman killed by her male partner in 1994; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The 160 Silent Witnesses who commemorate the 1-21 lives of murdered women will be displayed together for the first 1-22 time and will serve as a powerful and vivid reminder of the tragedy 1-23 of family violence in our communities; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Concerned Texans from all over the state are 2-2 issuing a call to action today to stop family violence; and 2-3 WHEREAS, The Silent Witnesses will be on display in the 2-4 State Capitol as part of a three-day exhibit on the second floor 2-5 of the Capitol Extension; they will also be a part of the national 2-6 march of Silent Witnesses from across the country in 2-7 Washington, D.C., in October, 1997, and, later, will become a 2-8 traveling exhibit across Texas; now, therefore, be it 2-9 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-10 75th Legislature, hereby recognize the Texas Council on Family 2-11 Violence's Silent Witness Project on April 1, 1997, and encourage 2-12 all Texans to act now to end family violence. 2-13 Moncrief 2-14 ______________________________________ 2-15 President of the Senate 2-16 I hereby certify that the above 2-17 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 2-18 on April 1, 1997. 2-19 ______________________________________ 2-20 Secretary of the Senate 2-21 ______________________________________ 2-22 Member, Texas Senate