This Saturday, at 12:30 p.m., and as part of Wear Orange Weekend and National Gun Violence Awareness Day, volunteers with Athens Moms Demand Action are hosting an awareness event at Ciné, 234 W. Hancock Ave.
The event is in partnership with the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, and it’s meant to honor the lives of those affected by gun violence and elevate gun violence prevention efforts nationwide.
The Athens event will include a screening of the documentary, "Us Kids," that follows the kids from the Parkland High School shooting. After, there will be a discussion panel with community partners.
The panel will include representatives from Mentoring Young Men, People Living in Recovery, Project Safe, and Sheats Social Services.
About Wear Orange
The Wear Orange campaign asks everyone in America who wants to end gun violence to do one simple thing on the first Friday in June, National Gun Violence Awareness Day: Wear Orange. The broad-based Wear Orange campaign was inspired by activists in Chicago and New York City. 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 in 2013. After her death, they asked us to stand up, speak out, and Wear Orange to raise awareness about gun violence. Since then, orange has been the defining color of the gun violence prevention movement.
New York City gun violence prevention advocates declared orange as the color of peace, and orange is the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Communities across America will Wear Orange on June 7 for National Gun Violence Awareness Day and participate in events throughout Wear Orange Weekend on June 8 and 9. Those who Wear Orange promise to honor the more than 120 people shot and killed every day in America, as well as the hundreds more wounded and the countless others who are traumatized by acts of gun violence.
Oh how easy it is to be cynical about this effort. I'm rather cynical myself. But I'm glad to see somebody is doing SOMETHING. Now, when this doesn't work, can we turn the job over to law enforcement and strengthen the laws regarding guns and felonies? Our bad actors don't read the news so they may not know that using a gun can send you away for a long, long time. Let's put up some billboards with huge graphics showing these miscreants the wrath of good Athens citizens.
People going to Cine are mostly the same people voting for the restorative justice DA. They are getting what they wanted good and hard. Now it's the guns fault. It isn't the kid acquiring the gun, the gang distributing the gun, the shooter converting a Glock into a modern day tommy gun. Nope. They all need a second or third chance, right? That's Debs platform you supported. How about wear orange at midnight in Bethel Homes if you want to make a point and be so brave. You should be antigang. That's the problem.
I'll be wearing orange this weekend in support of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Events like this one are crucial for raising Buckshot Roulette awareness and promoting gun violence prevention efforts.
BTW, I will be going "live" in the morning to show what REALLY happened. Be sure to tune in.