On June 2, the nation, or a good part of it anyway, will be #WearingOrange for a cause. The cause is a national day for gun violence awareness followed by the month of June with more awareness events and actions. The reason? The parents of one young girl are asking us to do this in her memory. For on June 2, tomorrow, she would be 18 years old. The reason they will not be celebrating her birthday is because she was shot and killed in January of 2013 just days after playing with her Chicago school band at President Obama’s inauguration. Her name was Hadiya Pendleton.
Here’s more about the day of gun violence awareness. Some New York lawmakers declared June to be gun violence awareness month in 2011. The idea has since spread and now has the endorsement of gun violence prevention groups and other groups from all over the country representing tens of thousands of Americans, if not more. In 2013 a group of Hadiya’s friends promoted the wearing of the color orange in memory of Hadiya and other gun violence victims:
Hunters want to be safe from being shot while hunting. So do Americans want to be safe from the gun violence that takes far too many lives.
“You don’t want to be invisible”. Exactly. Victims sometimes become invisible. Every day in our country over 80 people die from gunshot injuries. There are many mass shootings in our country which get the attention of the public, the media and even lawmakers for a while. And then, the corporate gun lobby steps in and does their job of making themselves the victims of proposed changes to laws that would actually prevent senseless shootings. It’s totally backwards and insane, in fact, but it happens. It makes absolutely no common sense. But it is the America we have, not the country most people want or deserve.
The message is changing. That must happen before the culture and laws change. Our message is strong. We understand that gun violence has become a serious national public health and safety epidemic and we also know that we can do something about this epidemic with the right prescriptions and treatment.
We owe it to the lives lost to promise to do something to stop others from not being able to reach their human potential. Hadiya”s young life had already shown the promise of success. Her life was taken far too soon in a senseless act of violence. You can see more information on the website named
No one wants to lose a loved one or a friend to a gunshot injury yet far too many of us have and do.
We are better than this. Let’s get to work. Do this for Hadiya and for the 32,000 Americans who die every year from gunshot injuries. Make your voices heard above the loud and often obnoxious din of the gun lobby’s deceptions and opposition to common sense.
Lawmakers in both the House and the Senate proposed making June 2 a day of remembrance for victims of gun violence, an event largely propagated by gun control groups.
“We have communities where parents are afraid to let their kids outside to play, to sit on their own front porches or even walk to the corner store,” said Kelly in a statement. “No one in America, no matter your region or zip code, should ever have to live this way.”
The day, June 2, was recognized last year by gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety for its “Wear Orange” event.
The idea originated from friends of Hadiya Pendleton, a Chicago teen who was shot in the back and killed while standing with friends in park after taking her final exams in 2013. She was killed one week after performing at events for President Obama’s second inauguration.
Months after the murder, on June 2, her friends dressed in orange to honor her on what would have been her birthday and promote non-violence.
Everytown adopted the custom and defined wearing orange much like a hunter does for safety. The official kickoff was a success on social media and gained broad support of celebrities.
However, gun rights advocates, who likened participants to convicts rather than hunters since they also wear orange, were largely indifferent.
{ Over and Out } Egypt A. Assanti { aka } Big Sister Southern Heat "Baroness" 👑 💋
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