Wear Orange Weekend, Anything But Guns (& Bullets), “Focus Should Be on Boys & Men Who Can’t Take No for an Answer”, A Message from Lee Daniels, A Message from Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly & National Gun Violence Awareness Day is this week!
Our country continues to grieve for the victims and survivors of the shooting at Santa Fe High School, and Americans are using their voices to demand our elected leaders enact common sense gun policies.
But the NRA's extremist leadership is on high alert, and the NRA's incoming president, Oliver North, is already blaming television, video games, and medication for the tragedy in Texas. We know that this is merely an attempt to distract from the NRA's extreme "guns everywhere" agenda. And if they're willing to shift the attention to anything BUT the epidemic of gun violence in America, then they're willing to do whatever it takes to advance their dangerous agenda that makes our communities less safe.
We're raising awareness in cities and towns large and small: from county fairs to city rallies, from local BBQs to town marches. And with monuments, skyscrapers, and city halls coast to coast lighting up in Orange, our country will shine bright in support of this movement. We're making sure we're seen, and we want you there with us.
Find a local event near you so you can take part in Wear Orange Weekend and raise awareness around gun violence.
| NJ-camden County-Voorhees Proclamation May 29 Voorhees Town Center Voorhees, NJ RSVP >> | NJ-Camden County-Haddonfield Proclamation June 1 Kings Court Haddonfield, NJ RSVP >> | NJ-Camden County-Cherry Hill Proclamation May 29 Cherry Hill Municipal Building Cherry Hill, NJ RSVP >> |
Every year during Wear Orange Weekend we honor the victims and survivors of gun violence, highlight the work we've been able to do to end the gun violence epidemic, and prepare ourselves for the work that remains. Overwhelmingly, our country is calling for an end to gun violence. They're demanding their calls for gun safety measures are seen. And during Wear Orange Weekend, we're all coming together to make sure that message is clear. Don't miss out: RSVP now to join us at a local event near you for Wear Orange Weekend.
This time, it was a school in Santa Fe, Texas. 10 shot and killed, 10 injured, and another community devastated by gun violence. Our country, our students, and our children deserve more than this. We're still grieving, and we're still fighting.
Because of the gun lobby's grip on our elected leaders, gun violence continues to kill our families, friends, and neighbors. When high school student Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in 2013, her friends turned their grief into action, and transformed orange into the color of gun violence prevention. And every year, for Hadiya's birthday, we wear orange to show our collective power.
We're going to show the power of orange. We are the 92% of Americans who support strong gun laws and we are fighting to end gun violence. We are going to elect candidates who believe in common sense gun laws. We will break this deadly cycle with an orange wave in November, and we are counting on you to stand with us.
On June 1, we'll Wear Orange and on Election Day we'll Vote Orange.
A Message from Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly:
For the students at Santa Fe High School, this should have been a joyous time of year.
Prom was last weekend. The Class of 2018 Sunset Dinner was yesterday evening and the varsity baseball team was set to play in the regional quarterfinals tonight. The last day of school is less than two weeks away.
Instead, after today’s school shooting in Texas, there have already been 22 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed this year alone — an average of more than one a week.
22.
How many times must we watch as terrified children are rushed away from a school while their parents rush toward the location desperate for information about their kids?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
The United States of America is the only developed nation in the world where these kinds of shootings happen with this type of frequency.
Congress knows how to solve this problem; all it takes is a little bit of courage -- the courage to stand up to the gun lobby, the courage to do what’s right. But the truth is, every day they fail to act, they accept that this will happen again and again.
We saw an interview shortly after today’s shooting where a child was asked if there was a part of her that thought this wasn’t real, that it couldn’t be happening at her school.
Heartbreakingly, her response was that she was not surprised, because “It’s been happening everywhere; I’ve always felt eventually it was going to happen here too.”
A child…
Yet again, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this shooting, their families, and their friends. But the truth is, for those who have the power to act and to save lives, thoughts and prayers are not nearly enough.
We do not have to accept these horrific acts of violence as routine, and we must never stop demanding that our leaders not only acknowledge this devastating problem, but take long overdue action to keep our children safe.
All our best,
Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly
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Last week, 10 students and staff members were killed at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas. 13 more people were injured, and a community — and country — were left grieving. Time and again, we're learning that gun violence affects us all, myself included.
Before I became a director — before Empire, The Butler, and Monster's Ball, I became a survivor of gun violence when my father was shot and killed. I joined this movement because I know all too well what gun violence does to a person, to a family, and to a community. And when more than 90 people are shot and killed by gun violence every day, and hundreds more injured, I know that our country is suffering from a gun violence epidemic.
So on June 1st — National Gun Violence Awareness Day and the start of Wear Orange Weekend — I'm joining the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are honoring the lives of victims and survivors of gun violence at hundreds of events across the country. From rallies to BBQs, and everything in between, we're raising gun violence awareness coast to coast. And I want you there with me: Don, support gun violence prevention at a local Wear Orange event near you.
Orange is a color that is bold, that stands out, and that demands to be seen. It is the color of gun violence prevention because the millions of Americans fighting tirelessly for a country that's free from gun violence, demand to be seen and demand to see change. Wear Orange is a way for our elected leaders to see our power, but it can only succeed when we all come together. That's why we need YOU with us.
Find a local event near you and join us for Wear Orange Weekend.
Thanks for being an important part of Wear Orange Weekend.
Lee Daniels
Before I became a director — before Empire, The Butler, and Monster's Ball, I became a survivor of gun violence when my father was shot and killed. I joined this movement because I know all too well what gun violence does to a person, to a family, and to a community. And when more than 90 people are shot and killed by gun violence every day, and hundreds more injured, I know that our country is suffering from a gun violence epidemic.
So on June 1st — National Gun Violence Awareness Day and the start of Wear Orange Weekend — I'm joining the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are honoring the lives of victims and survivors of gun violence at hundreds of events across the country. From rallies to BBQs, and everything in between, we're raising gun violence awareness coast to coast. And I want you there with me: Don, support gun violence prevention at a local Wear Orange event near you.
Find a local event near you and join us for Wear Orange Weekend.
Thanks for being an important part of Wear Orange Weekend.
Lee Daniels
