Denver group calls for gun-violence awareness

A couple dozen people, all clad in orange, took to Denver streets midday Saturday demanding that communities be free of gun violence.

Demonstrators started in Highland Park and marched south, chanting, “Not one more” and “Stop the silence, no more gun violence,” receiving applause as they passed the March for Truth event at Commons Park and finishing at Union Station.

“We hope that by raising awareness for gun violence, people will spring into action,” said Jessica Pettigrew, head of the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action, the march organizer.

Pettigrew said Colorado passed some of the most comprehensive gun laws in the nation after the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. Since then, there have been repeated attempts to repeal those laws, she said.

State Sen. Rhonda Fields, a Democrat from Aurora, wore a “survivor” pin Saturday. Her son and his fiancée were shot and killed before they could testify against drug dealers who showed up at a party and killed his friend.

“We want to be able to go to a mall or a church without the threat or fear of being gunned down,” Fields said.

To help prevent gun violence, she said, the legislature needs to maintain the laws currently on the books while the federal government needs to catch up to Colorado.

“It can’t be a one-answer solution,” she said. “It requires a holistic community approach, including faith communities, business communities, including law enforcement and economic development. We need to look for opportunities for people to have ladders of opportunity.”

Marches took place across the country, including Washington, D.C. Marchers wore orange to mimic hunters, who wear the bright color so they won’t be shot.