#Wear Orange Day

The first Friday in June is #WeWearOrange day and is also National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

• Orange traffic cones alert motorists to proceed with care.
• Orange hard hats guard workers from dangers on the worksite.
• Bright orange signs warn of people working on the roads, protecting them from speeding drivers.
• OSHA designates orange for toxic and/or corrosive solutions, alerting users of potential harm and reducing poisoning.
• Orange is used on the parts of machinery that could cut, crush, maul, or shock a person.
• 'Safety Orange' is a designated color that is used to set things apart from their surroundings.
• Orange is the color worn in the woods during hunting season: a bright and vivid color used to protect the wearer from death by shooting.

Bluntly: it’s done to protect people from being killed.

If wearing orange protected children from guns, if only it were that easy, I’d start a lobby to paint children orange from birth.

Issue every child a protective vest and hard hat , too, for good measure. Mandatory orange shoes, backpacks, vests, pajamas, slippers, scarves. Every school uniform would be orange. Every sports jersey and pants would glow with that color.

That way they would be safe from gun violence.

But; that's silly, isn't it? That's too extreme, right? What could possibly justify such weird and strange rules for the colors children can wear? What are the actual chances that children would be a victim of gun violence in the United States?

Every day 22 children under the age of 17 are shot in the United States of America.

That is, of course, an average. On May 24, 2022, 19 children were fatal victims of gun violence in Uvalde Texas. Since it is not likely that only 3 other children were shot in the United States on May 24th, that day's statistics were likely higher.

But, to me, children are more than statistics. I believe that is true for most people. It's just easier to think about statistics instead of murdered children, isn't it?

Gun Violence Awareness Day isn’t political.

It’s a stand, a plea, a recognition, and a call for agreement that guns and violence must not be put together.

For me; it’s a simple stand that we start with this: don’t shoot children.

I envision that once we get that in place, once children are safe from gunshot in schools, playgrounds, and the streets of their neighborhood, then we have taken a huge stride in making hospitals, malls, grocery stores, and workplaces safe for everyone.

Will wearing a particular color on these three days stop gun violence? Probably not. But it is one more person, one more voice, one loud color, one reminder (maybe even just to myself) that we are in a desperate place in the United States.

Maybe you’ll join me in wearing orange the first weekend of June? Maybe you will start that this year? Maybe you will share this post on social media? Maybe you will look into the statistics and check the links in this article?

Maybe someday this day won't need to happen ever again because gun violence is gone.

Check out the suggestions to participate here:

To read books on the subject, available at local bookstores, libraries, and from Bookshop.org, here is an updated list:

In conclusion

Please; I hope there will be a conclusion that leads to safety and the freedom from gun violence for all citizens within the United States of America. Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

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