A number of celebrities, as well as medical professionals, were seen wearing orange on Friday, June 2, to mark the solemn occasion of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Celebrities including Jimmy Kimmel and Bette Midler shared photos of themselves wearing orange for the campaign on Twitter. Kimmel was even seen holding an orange in his hand in a comical way. Here are their posts:
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What is Wear Orange Day?
The first Wear Orange Day was held on June 2, 2015. It marked what would have been the 18th birth anniversary of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed by gang members in 2013. Her death pushed Gun Violence Awareness Day to become a national event.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has asked people to post a photo wearing an orange outfit with the hashtag #WearOrange.
“In June of 2015, a broad coalition asked people nationwide to join what Hadiya’s friends started for the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Americans will #WearOrange again this year to honor victims and survivors of gun violence and to spread awareness about this crisis,” the organization said in a series of posts. “Today, we honor Hadiya and all whose lives have been taken or forever changed by gun violence. Wear orange and share your picture on social media with the #WearOrange hashtag. Then, on June 2-4, join a Wear Orange Weekend event.”
A number of medical professionals also chose to support the campaign by wearing orange on Friday and sharing their photos on social media. Here are some of them:
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 200 mass shootings across the US so far this year. In the last three years, there have been more than 600 mass shootings every year, almost two a day on average. The deadliest mass shooting happened in Las Vegas in 2017, where more than 50 people were left dead and 500 were left wounded.
