GREENFIELD — The Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action is inviting the public to join its annual gun violence vigil from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday on the Greenfield Common as part of the national observance of Wear Orange Weekend.
The vigil comes in the wake of two massacres in two weeks after a shooter, allegedly motivated by white supremacy, in Buffalo, New York carried out a racist attack that killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. The Buffalo shooting was followed by an 18-year-old killing 19 elementary school students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Kathy O’Rourke, the primary organizer of the Greenfield vigil and a retired teacher, said she is holding the vigil to draw attention to the epidemic of gun violence that plagues the United States. Gun violence is the leading cause of death in American children and teens, according to a research letter submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine.
“It doesn’t take rocket science, we’re doing something different than other countries,” O’Rourke said. “It’s an opportunity to honor the victims of gun violence and then bring awareness to folks that it’s important to stay on top of this and not to become complacent and keep the conversation going.”
Residents are encouraged to join the vigil and to wear orange. Orange became the defining color of the gun violence prevention movement nationwide because Orange is the color that Hadiya Pendleton’s friends wore in her honor when she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15 — just one week after performing at President Barack Obama’s second inaugural parade in 2013.
Orange ribbons will be tied around the trees on the common and O’Rourke will tie the names of gun violence victims on the black fence surrounding the common’s monument.
O’Rourke, who joined Moms Demand Action after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, encourages people to stop by the common on Friday to learn about Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, as well as gain information about how to talk to children about guns and safe storage practices. She said the group is not anti-Second Amendment, but is “anti-gun violence.”
“It’s a movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence,” she said. “We’re just asking for some solutions to the absence of gun laws we have now on the books and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our kids and families. … We’re not coming to take anybody’s guns away, that’s not the goal.”
In terms of legislation, O’Rourke, who noted she grew up in a house with hunters and guns, said she’d like to see expanded background checks and the re-implementation of the assault weapon ban, which was signed by Congress in 1994 and expired in 2004.
“They’re weapons of war — why would you need those?” O’Rourke said of assault rifles, which were used in both the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings. “When you look at Uvalde, the police were afraid to confront this shooter because of the weapon he had.”
Additionally, O’Rourke highlighted several pending pieces of Massachusetts legislation that target untraceable firearms called “ghost guns,” expanding reporting and analysis of gun crime data, and requiring live-fire training before being able to purchase and carry a gun in the state.
Following the two most recent shootings, O’Rourke said groups like Moms Demand Action need to keep up the fight, even if changes come in small steps.
“It’s a tough fight, but I’m hopeful. We can’t give up hope,” she said. “I am hopeful that something can be done, even if it’s slow and small, incremental changes. I feel it can lead to bigger change.”
For more information about Moms Demand Action or to get involved, visit momsdemandaction.org.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.