Ramapo Councilman Daniel Friedman announced he is offering a book he wrote on youth and gun violence to all Rockland middle and high schools and public libraries.
Friedman wrote and published “Saving Our Children: An In-Depth Look At Gun Violence In Our Nation And Our Schools” in 2006, when he was 20 years old.
He said he was providing the book for free in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in order to raise awareness of the gun control issue among young people.
“The point of this is to encourage more awareness, education, understanding of this very important issue,” he explained on Wednesday.
According to Friedman, the book examines the history of the gun culture in America, and includes statistics and incidents of gun violence, an analysis of the media’s impact on young people, landmark legislation on guns, and unbiased analysis of opposing points of view on the controversial issue of gun control. The book also discusses bullying in schools.
Friedman said he became interested in the issue as he was working on it with elected officials and that led to his advocacy. He said he hopes it will encourage a serious discussion among youths.
“They ought to be informed about all aspects of it,” he said.
“Having this book in school libraries will offer educators and students important information and an understanding about this issue and how to prevent violence of any kind among young people, said Friedman. “In particular, I collected information from a vast number of resources and compiled important practical information for educators on how to identify and prevent school violence. The time has come for us to have a serious conversation about this issue, and I believe that educators – and students – have a role to play in this process.”
School and library officials can pick up two complimentary copies of the book from Phil Tisi in the Supervisor’s office at Ramapo Town Hall at 237 Route 59 in Suffern.
