I am not normally the type of woman who plans out her wardrobe to the very last accessory, but this Thursday I know exactly what to wear: the color orange. June 2 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. I will be joining people all across the country who wear orange to express that we are heartbroken by gun violence in America — and that we want our lawmakers to find solutions.
Orange is the color hunters use to say “Don’t shoot me!” It’s also the color Hadiya Pendleton’s friends chose to honor her life. In 2013, two weeks after Hadiya marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade, she was shot in the back at a Chicago park.
Illinois is far away, but we don’t have to look hard to find gun violence right here in Washington.
It was the 2014 shooting at Seattle Pacific University that prompted my friend, Leah Bernstein, to take action. “The shooter lived equal distance between my two kids’ schools,” she told me over coffee one morning. “That was a wake-up call.”
Now Leah volunteers four to 17 hours a week with the Washington State chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She helped pass Initiative 594 which requires universal background checks for gun purchases — including those made at traveling gun shows.
Right now Leah is gathering signatures for the Extreme Risk Protection Orders, Initiative 1491. If passed, this law would help families who could prove their loved ones were in mental health crisis, take life-saving action.
“Ninety deaths a day are caused by guns in this country,” Leah told me, “and don’t think they are all gang related. We live in a society where parents freak out if their children run with scissors, but think nothing of mom keeping an unlocked gun in her purse.”
My first experience with gun violence was in fifth grade. A student at my elementary school was shot and killed by her friend when they discovered an unlocked gun on a play date. At the time, the incident was a horrible and unique tragedy. Now it’s a story that we hear all the time.
“Nobody is saying we should dismantle the Second Amendment,” Leah said. “But we need logical laws.”
Case in point, should open-carry be allowed in our public libraries? Do you need semi-automatic weapons when you go to the grocery store?
I know lots of people who like to hunt and collect guns. I have family members with stocked gun safes that are probably worth more than my car. My son learns to shoot in Boy Scouts. I have no problem with any of that.
I do have a problem with the guy who wears his baby in a front pack and straps a semi-automatic weapon on his back being the voice for all gun owners. Reasonable gun owners need to step up in defense of common sense, and all of us need to advocate for better laws.
#WearOrange this Thursday. It’s the easiest wardrobe decision you’ll ever make.
Jennifer Bardsley lives in Edmonds. Her book “Genesis Girl” comes out June 14. Find her online on Instagram @the_ya_gal, Twitter @jennbardsley or at teachingmybabytoread.com.
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