Friday marks National Gun Violence Awareness Day 2018 and communities across the country are taking part by wearing orange this weekend.
Wear Orange Weekend, which takes place June 1-June 3, was created in 2015 to honor Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl who was killed in Chicago one week after she performed for President Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
This year’s National Gun Violence Awareness comes almost four months after the Parkland, Florida shooting that left 17 people dead and a few weeks after the school shooting at Santa Fe High school, which left 10 people dead.
Former President Obama posted on Twitter on Friday acknowledging the day.
“This National Gun Violence Awareness Day, show your commitment to keeping our kids safe from gun violence. Then, for everyone we’ve lost, take action to change our leadership and our laws until they reflect that commitment – no matter how long it takes.”
This National Gun Violence Awareness Day, show your commitment to keeping our kids safe from gun violence. Then, for everyone we’ve lost, take action to change our leadership and our laws until they reflect that commitment – no matter how long it takes. https://t.co/lraIwlQAgl
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 1, 2018
Activists will be “signing petitions to push for stricter gun control laws, demonstrating against gun violence, attending meetups, promoting their cause on social media and engaging in workshops and teach-ins about gun violence,” according to the Daily Mail.
According to Every Town for Gun Safety, 96 Americans die from gun violence a day, 13,000 die from gun-related homicides a year.
To learn more National Gun Violence Awareness Day, visit Every Town for Gun Safety.
