Wear Orange Weekend promotes ‘gun sense’
Binghampton resident Joyce Johnson knows what it’s like to lose a loved one to gun violence. Her son was shot and killed.
“I have no choice but to live through my son being shot 11 times,” Johnson shouted during a Saturday event to raise gun violence awareness. “Our children have to go to school the next day trying to deal with tragic deaths — that they just seen their brother, their homie, their cousin, their uncles, their dads being shot up the day before.”
Johnson was one of more than 120 people who put on orange and gathered at Lester Community Center for a purposeful picnic.
The gathering was part of the national Wear Orange Weekend, which raises gun violence awareness.
The event was put on by Memphis’ Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a volunteer-led branch of Everytown for Gun Safety, a national nonprofit that advocates for gun control and against gun violence.
This was the third year Memphis has participated in Wear Orange Weekend, with this year’s theme being “Use your Voice.”
Moms Demand Action’s current campaign is Be S.M.A.R.T., which advocates securing guns, modeling responsible behavior with guns, recognizing the risks of teen suicides and spreading the campaign with others.
Katy Spurlock is a volunteer co-lead for Memphis’ Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She said 93 people die from gun crimes each day nationwide. She said gun violence in schools and communities must be addressed.
“Moms Demand Action says we need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, and we also need to limit where and when people can carry guns,” Spurlock said.
“This is about common sense legislation that keeps guns out of hands of dangerous people and keeps guns out of sensitive places like schools ...”
The event featured several stations. One had postcards to write to legislators asking for “gun sense” laws. Another had a scrapbook where people could write what they would do to end gun violence. Deputy registrars also came out to help register voters.
“In the first hour, we had 10 people register,” said Tracy O’Connor, director of Memphis High School Voting Project. She said they focus on registering adults in the summer months.
“One of the most critical things that can happen to effect change is the election process,” deputy registrar Susanne Landau said.
“People are really interested. (Memphis) is a population where a lot of people want to register to vote.
Several parents who lost children to gun violence attended the event. Some parents contributed to a quilt where each square represented a different child who died from gun violence.