GREENFIELD — Just as hunters wear orange to enhance safety, residents are encouraged to don orange clothes on the Greenfield Common to bring attention to the epidemic of gun violence in the United States.
The Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action is inviting the public to join its seventh annual gun violence vigil from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 2. The vigil memorializes those killed by gun violence, and honors survivors and communities affected by it.
In 2021 — the most recent year for which full data is available — 48,830 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., a 23% increase from pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. In particular, gun deaths among children and teens under the age of 18 rose by 50% in the same two-year period, with 2,590 deaths reported in 2021, according to the Pew Research Center.
“We feel it’s time to demand action, and orange is what the hunters in the woods wear to protect themselves. … This bright orange color demands to be seen,” explained Kathy O’Rourke, the primary organizer of the Greenfield vigil. “We’re working toward gun sense in America and we’re not going to give up until it happens.”
O’Rourke, a retired Whately Elementary School teacher, said the vigil is an opportunity to remember those who were killed by guns in the last year. Their goal is as relevant as ever, with Wear Orange Weekend coming just a few weeks after the one-year anniversary of mass shootings at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what these families are having to deal with. It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “There are children that are afraid to go to school, and that should not be the case in this country or anywhere in this world.”
Residents are encouraged to wear orange to the vigil. 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 hearts adorned with the names of gun violence victims will be placed on the black fence surrounding the common’s monument.
O’Rourke emphasized that she and Moms Demand Action are a non-political group advocating for more gun regulations; they are not anti-Second Amendment and do not want to take people’s guns away.
Specifically, she said she’d like to see the 1994 assault weapons ban reinstated and see more initiatives pushed for safe gun storage, which can cut down on stolen weapons and unintentional discharges at home.
“I think, and [Moms Demand Action] thinks, the way for us to remember these victims and support these survivors is to actively try and decrease gun violence,” O’Rourke explained. “We encourage everybody to reach out to their legislators and let them know gun violence is out of control and legislation needs to happen.”
For more information about Moms Demand Action, visit momsdemandaction.org.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.