why orange?

On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Wear Orange is now observed every June. Thousands of people wear the color orange to honor Hadiya and the nearly 46,000 Americans are killed with guns and nearly 97,000 more are shot and wounded every year.

This year, we once again unite in our call to end gun violence as we come together for Wear Orange. We honor the communities shattered by gun violence alongside the more than 125 people who are shot and killed, and hundreds more who are wounded and traumatized, every day in our country.

We deserve more than to live in a country where firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States. But as incidents of gun violence have grown, so too has the movement to stop it. By participating in Wear Orange online and in your community, we will organize, advocate, and rally for safer communities. Together we can build a future free from gun violence.