This weekend (June 1-3) marks Wear Orange Weekend, a movement in support of gun violence prevention started in 2015 when Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl who performed at former President Obama‘s second inaugural parade in 2013, was shot and killed in Chicago a week later. Her friends wanted to honor her legacy by wearing orange, which is what hunters wear to protect themselves in the woods, but more symbolically, as a sign of peace.
Everytown for Gun Safety stats show EVERY DAY 96 people are killed by gun violence. Everytown works “to pass common-sense laws and policies that save lives” through researching issues surrounding gun violence, developing solutions and speaking with lawmakers.
National Gun Violence Awareness Day was Friday (June 1) and kicked off Wear Orange Weekend, the nationwide campaign started by Everytown, which was created
“to do life-saving work so that we can get closer to realizing a future free of gun violence.“
Erica Ford, a New York gun violence prevention advocate spearheaded the new connotation in her LIFE Camp, Inc. (Love Ignites Freedom Through Education) organization, which brings young people and their families
“positive alternatives to violence, bullying and other forms of anti-social behavior.”
The New York’s Governors Ball music festival coincides with Wear Orange Weekend this year, and musicians will show their dedication to the cause by wearing orange during their performances, showcasing videos addressing gun-violence prevention and donating money to Everytown’s mission.
And celebs are wearing orange and posting on Instagram to raise awareness.
But of course, the NRA had to make this weekend about GUNS changing its logo on Twitter to orange, and tweeting that
“Orange has always been ours. Orange has been hunters and sportsmen’s choice for decades. No organization in the world does more than the NRA to promote the safe and responsible use of firearms.”
To that I say this. The NRA is a terrorist organization.
#StopGunViolence
Today, I #WearOrange to give a voice to the 96 Americans who die and the hundreds more who are injured by gun violence every single day. Why do you #WearOrange ? Text ORANGE to 644-33 to find a #WearOrange Weekend event near you. @Everytown
(via Billboard)
