You’ve probably heard this one before: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Maybe you’ve even heard it from loved ones at your own holiday table.
Myths about guns, gun violence, and gun safety laws in America are, unfortunately, widespread. And arguing with family and loved ones about these misconceptions may feel especially difficult. That’s why we developed Fork Over the Facts—a resource to help you debunk misinformation this holiday season.
Knowing how to respond to these myths in the moment can be challenging, but having these difficult conversations is an important first step toward creating safer communities.
Every day, 125 Americans are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded.There are a lot of widespread myths and conflicting information about guns, gun violence, and gun safety laws in America. To set the record straight, we’ve developed a series of graphics to help you “fork over the facts” and dispel some of the most prominent myths about gun violence.
David Miller is the Managing Editor of Loveland Magazine
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Without a doubt, the human cost of gun violence—the people who are taken from us and the survivors whose lives are forever altered—is the most devastating.
And in addition to the overwhelming human impact of this crisis, we all pay for the enormous economic costs associated with gun violence.
Instead of using taxpayer dollars to clean up after the gun industry’s #KillerBusiness, our government should be investing in education and social services to build healthier, safer, more sustainable communities.
Our federal, state, and local governments spend a combined average of nearly $35 million each day to deal with the aftermath of gun violence across the country—all while gun manufacturers rake in billions in profits and shirk responsibility for their role in this crisis.
The cost of gun violence in the United States each year is five times the nation’s budget for the Department of Education.
That’s why we’re calling on gun manufacturers—including Smith & Wesson, Glock, Daniel Defense, and Sturm, Ruger & Co.—to reform their marketing practices, innovate towards safer products, and regulate their supply chain to reduce the flow of illegal guns.
We’re dedicated to holding them accountable for their deadly business practices.
Because the gun industry has spent decades acting as if it were above the law. Gun companies have innovated their products to become even deadlier, marketed their weapons irresponsibly, and supplied gun dealers with heaps of dangerous weapons.
This Tax Day, we’re focused on holding the gun industry accountable for the damage they’ve caused in communities across the country. We won’t let them get away with it any longer.
Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, spoke about the need for common-sense gun legislation during a press conference outside the Ohio Statehouse on July 27. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal.)
A recent Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows 92% of Ohioans want mandatory background checks for firearm purchases — including 99% Democrats and 88% Republicans.
Ohioans across the political spectrum want common sense guns laws.
A recent Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows 92% of Ohioans want mandatory background checks for firearm purchases — including 99% Democrats and 88% Republicans.
But instead, the Republican-controlled Statehouse has loosened gun laws.
“Let’s call a spade a spade,” said Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington. “Ohio has some of the worst pro-gun crime and anti-cop-laws in the country. And nothing has been done about it.”
Russo and State Sen. Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, joined Columbus city leaders in calling for common sense gun laws during a press conference in front of the Ohio Statehouse Thursday.
“No shooting death is just a number,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “It represents a father, a mother, brother, sister, a friend, a neighbor. And each one causes ever widening ripples of unspeakable grief, pain, and loss. … We need our state legislators to use every lever at their disposal to get the guns off our streets and bring down the violence.”
Common sense gun laws are not a knock against those who use weapons in appropriate ways, Craig said.
“This is about why do you have an automatic weapon to go deer hunting to shoot 30 bullets at a time?” he asked.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
“That should outrage every single citizen in this state,” Russo said. “These children deserve better. They deserve more from us. They deserve to be able to grow up in this state and have a thriving future.”
Kids worry about being gunned down when they go to school and play in the park, said Jene Patrick, with the nonprofit group Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children.
“Common sense gun laws allow our children to go to school and feel safe,” Patrick said. “It allows our children to go to playgrounds and ride our bikes throughout the neighborhood and feel comfortable.”
Poll results
About three-fourths of Ohioans want laws mandating safe storage of guns and red flag laws that would allow family members or police to remove firearms from people they fear will harm themselves or others, according to the survey.
Ninety-two percent of Democrats and 65% Republicans are in support of safe storage gun laws.
When it came to red flag laws, 92% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans were in favor.
Eighty-eight percent of Ohioans want mandatory training for concealed carry licenses — including 96% Democrats and 83% Republicans, according to the survey.
“The laws they pushed through allow practically anyone to own a gun with zero training,” Ginther said. “That kind of Wild Wild West mentality has no chance of making our families or our officers safer. We need the state and federal governments to step up to help us keep illegal guns off our streets.”
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A law went into effect in 2021 that no longer requires people to retreat before they can justifiably hurt or kill someone with a gun in self-defense.
DeWine also signed a bill into law that gives local boards of education the authority to decide whether to allow their teachers and school workers to carry firearms.
Some common sense legislation has been introduced, but hasn’t made it very far.
State Reps. Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park, and Darnell T. Brewer, D-Cleveland, introduced a bill in May that would prohibit a person from not properly securing a firearm with the goal of eliminating shootings involving minors by 2032.
Republican State Sen. Matt Dolan introduced a bill last General Assembly that would have enacted red flag laws, which protect the public and the gun owner by temporarily removing a firearm from someone deemed by a judge to be suffering from a severe mental health condition. The bill never made it out of committee.
“All we’ve seen come out of this extremist gerrymandered Statehouse are laws that encourage more gun crimes,” Russo said.
Dayton mass shooting
DAYTON, OH – AUGUST 4: Law enforcement officials investigate the scene where a gunman opened fire on a crowd of people over night on Fifth Avenue in the Oregon District on August 4, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. In the second mass shooting in the U.S. within 24 hours a gunman left nine dead and another 27 wounded after only a minute of shooting. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
After a 2019 mass shooting in Dayton killed nine people, chants of “do something” drowned out Gov. Mike DeWine’s speech during a vigil for the victims.
“Even after the calls to do something after a mass shooting — killing our neighbors in Dayton — they’ve turned a blind eye to reality, fact and reason, and passed the most dangerous and reckless gun laws in the history of the state,” Ginther said.
Craig echoed that sentiment.
“Four years after they asked us to do something, and yet the question remains — What have we done?” he asked.
Craig said there have been more than 2,500 mass shootings in the past four years, 101 in Ohio and 21 in Columbus.
“Today it’s about us linking hands and saying very clearly to the legislature … if you can’t do it, then get out of the way so that the municipalities, those that are on the ground, can make decisions about our children and their lives,” Craig asked.
Columbus and gun violence
Columbus has had 88 homicides so far this year and 78 of them involved a gun, Ginther said. The state’s capital has also had 15 domestic violence related deaths.
2021 was the city’s deadliest year on record with 205 homicides. Ginther declared gun violence a public health crisis in Columbus in February 2022 and Columbus City Council passed new gun-control legislation at the end of last year.
“I wake up every morning in my community, hearing gunfire,” Craig said. “This is real, and it’s palatable, we ought to be doing something.”
Jene Patrick remembers opening up Facebook and learning 32-year-old Carrington Willis was killed in a shooting in September 2020. She followed Willis on Facebook and remembered watching him read a book to his daughter’s preschool class on Facebook days before he died.
“We are calling out to our legislators to pass common sense gun safe laws,” said Patrick. “It’s bigger than being Republicans or Democrats. It’s bigger than politics.”
The Columbus Division of Police recovered more than 3,330 firearms last year, the most ever collected, Ginther said. CPD is on track to recover even more guns this year — having already recovered more than 1,900 guns so far this year, he said.
“All of this demonstrates just how deadly and detrimental gun violence is to the safety and security of our communities,” said Ginther.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
Enough was enough when gun violence became the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States.
Enough was enough when just one community was devastated by a shooting.
Enough was enough when three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee were shot and killed this morning.
We will not accept this crisis as inevitable. Sending our children to school should not be a life-threatening decision.
We must hold accountable the people who continue to enable this violence: The lawmakers who choose to exacerbate this crisis with only thoughts, prayers, and deadly legislation to further weaken our gun laws. The gun industry executives and gun traffickers who have flooded our communities with guns. The extremists who have pushed forward a violent agenda that we—and our children—are paying for with our lives.
David Miller is the Managing Editor of Loveland Magazine
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Adults and children from across the tri-state gathered in Nisbet Park along the Little Miami River in Historic Downtown on a sunny and warm Fall Sunday afternoon to be part of a “Women’s Wave” of activists out to change the course of voting patterns in our community. After speeches, they walked for an hour throughout our business district and along the Loveland Bike Trail engaging locals and tourists with the refrain of the sentiments they were so adamant about. It was a demonstration for human rights and as odd as that sounded throughout the streets of this quaint community nicknamed, “The Sweetheart of Ohio” it happened. “Human Rights” that have been taken away from themselves, their children, and those they love. The political agenda on most minds was the U.S. Supreme Court overthrowing Roe v Wade and a woman’s right to have an abortion, reproductive rights such as birth control, and how that decision led to even more extreme legislation and proposals from some elected officials at the Ohio Statehouse, and in D.C.
Health care, including the sometimes life-saving medical care of needed abortions and the tangled net that women and their healthcare providers are caught in, gun violence, mass shooting in schools, the right to gender equality, LGBTQ people’s rights, and a safer future for young girls were all talking points throughout the afternoon.
Many Democratic candidates for local and state offices spoke and a candidate for the U.S. House. Parts of Loveland are in Ohio Representative Jean Schmidt’s district and the local organizer, Bailey Moak, said that is why she chose downtown Loveland for the event location. She wants to show Schmidt where the unemployment line is. She believes that Schmidt and other currently serving politicians don’t align with Loveland’s values.
I asked organizer Moak on Monday to send me some of her thoughts after the event had ended. You can also watch her speaking at the event and watch a photo essay of photos from the event below. The rally was certainly an appeal for local “pro-choice” residents to get to the polls on November 8 and vote for “pro-choice” candidates, however, the photo essay will explain why so many people gathered in the park, their myriad reasons, and then marched.
I found the event to be a huge success. We met our goals to engage and educate voters, raise awareness to threats against women’s rights in our community and shed light on dangerous politicians like Jean Schmidt from Loveland who proposed legislation to ban medical care to women and children across Ohio (HB598), and ban access to curriculum on diversity and inclusion to students across our state (HB616).We rallied, we celebrated the promise of what new leadership can do to preserve and expand our freedoms, and we marched in protest of extremism and hate.During the March we disrupted some nice family dinners occurring on the patios of local businesses in Downtown Loveland with our passionate demonstration. This disruption is NECESSARY. All too often we side-step important discussions with our families, friends and community members to avoid feeling uncomfortable. The only way individuals, families and communities can grow is through engagement and vulnerability, which can result in a bit of discomfort. As demonstrators passed, families and friends breaking bread together were compelled to address important topics, which in my experience, leads to understanding and connection. This is why we Listen. This is why we Speak. This is why we Act. We do it for our communities and families.I want to thank our passionate volunteers and our speakers: Brian Flick, Dr. Jeanne Corwin, Dr. Vanessa Enoch, Dr. Nabila Babar, Joy Bennett, Jen Perez and Rep. Jessica Miranda, and our partnering organizations: Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, Ohio ACLU, Ohio Red Wine and Blue, the Ohio Democratic Women’s Caucus and Democracy in Action for participating in this event.I also want to thank the City of Loveland, the Loveland Fire Department, and Loveland PD Chief, Michael Gabrielson for their support in working with event organizers to ensure this was a safe and successful event that this community can be proud of.
Thursday, October 27 from 8 AM until -9:30 AM at the Cincinnati Ballet for the 6th Annual Corporate Breakfast.
Women Helping Women will be joined by Shannon Watts, Founder and CEO of Moms Demand Action, for a fireside chat addressing the The Intersection of Gender-Based Violence & Gun Violence, facilitated by Rebeca Arbona, President and Chief Truth-Teller of BrandTrue.
Find out what you can do to prevent violence before it occurs, and to empower survivors in your workplace.
Washington D.C. – President Joe Biden on Thursday reiterated his call on Congress to pass stalled gun legislation reform but also outlined executive action he’s taking on several gun control measures, following deadly mass shootings last month in Colorado and Georgia.
“Gun violence in this country is an epidemic and it’s an international embarrassment,” Biden said in remarks in the Rose Garden outside the White House.
In attendance were gun control advocates, lawmakers and relatives of victims of gun violence, including Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Biden said he had met many of the friends and family members in the audience and knows they have had to “bury a piece of their soul deep in the earth” due to gun violence.
“Last night, as I was coming to the Oval Office, I got the word that, in South Carolina, a physician with his wife, two grandchildren, and a person working at his house was gunned down— all five,” Biden said. “So many of the people sitting here today know that well, unfortunately. You know, they know what it’s like when the seconds change your life forever.”
The Associated Press reported that the suspect in the South Carolina murders was a former NFL football player later found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Biden urged the Senate to ban assault rifles, which are weapons typically used in mass shootings.
The president also wants Congress to require background checks for guns bought at gun shows, close loopholes in gun laws and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act—a law that protects people from domestic and sexual violence that passed the U.S. House in March. It lapsed in 2018.
Movement on gun control legislation has been uphill in the Senate, even after mass shootings like those in Colorado, Georgia and Florida.
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement that he plans to soon bring legislation to the Senate floor, along with quickly confirming the president’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Michigan native and gun violence prevention advocate David Chipman.
“While the president’s executive actions are critical, they are not a substitute for meaningful legislation to address the gun violence epidemic,” Schumer said.
More than 11,000 people this year have died due to gun violence, according to Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan group that documents gun deaths in the U.S.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed those numbers, adding that the Justice Department is already in the process of carrying out several executive ordersdirected by Biden.
The Justice Department, within 60 days, will publish model “red flag” legislation for states, which will allow law enforcement or family members to petition courts to temporarily remove any firearms from an individual who either poses a risk to themselves or others. Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have “red flag” laws.
The department will also release a report on firearm trafficking. The last report was conducted in 2000.
The Biden administration will also direct the DOJ to issue a proposed rule within 30 days that will stop the proliferation of “ghost guns,” which are homemade guns that lack a serial number, making them difficult for law enforcement to trace.
And the administration said DOJ will issue a proposed rule that would “make clear when a device marketed as a stabilizing brace effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act,” an administration fact sheet said.
Among the lawmakers in attendance at the Rose Garden was Rep. Lucy McBath, a Georgia Democrat who ran for Congress after her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was killed in a Florida gas station.
“This gun violence is unacceptable, it is unconscionable, and we must do better,” McBath said in a statement. “A majority of Americans support common-sense measures to help stop this violence, and today, I am truly proud to stand with the President as he fights for future generations, for survivors, and for mothers like me.”
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), who represents the congressional district where at least 10 people were killed in March at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, was also expected to be in attendance. That mass shooting followed another earlier in March that left six Asian American women dead in Atlanta, as well as two other people.
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) photo wikimedia.org
“Every day in this country, 316 people are shot. Every single day. A hundred and six of them die every day,” Biden said. “Our flag was still flying at half-staff for the victims of the horrific murder of eight primarily Asian American people in Georgia when 10 more lives were taken in a mass murder in Colorado.
“You probably didn’t hear it, but between those two incidents, less than one week apart, there were more than 850 additional shootings—850—that took the lives of more than 250 people, and left 500—500—injured. This is an epidemic, for God’s sake. And it has to stop.”
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), who in 2011 was shot in the head by a gunman while at a constituent event in Tucson and now leads a gun violence prevention advocacy group, was also present for Biden’s remarks. Six people died in that shooting, along with one member of her staff, Gabe Zimmerman.
Biden acknowledged that it’s difficult to have a conversation around guns, but stressed that most of his executive orders and gun legislation reform could be bipartisan.
“The idea that we have so many people dying every single day of gun violence is a blemish on our character as a nation,” Biden said.
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, has teamed up with Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, to sponsor legislation on gun background checks. The senators have advocated for background checks on all commercial sales of guns, but have also pushed for exemptions for known buyers, such as family and friends.
In a statement Toomey said he and his staff were reviewing the executive orders from the Biden administration.
“Lasting progress though is made through the legislative process,” he said. “If done in a manner that respects the rights of law-abiding citizens, I believe there is an opportunity to strengthen our background check system so that we are better able to keep guns away from those who have no legal right to them.”
A Grinnell College national poll conducted in March found that 81 percent of Americans said the right to bear and keep arms is very or somewhat important to them personally. That included 99 percent of Donald Trump voters and 95 percent of Republicans, compared to 62 percent of Biden voters and 63 percent of Democrats, the results from the poll at the liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, said.
As families in Atlanta and countless other communities are still grieving after recent tragic shootings, we’re learning the details of the heartbreaking mass shooting in which at least ten people were shot and killed at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.
We need more than thoughts and prayers from our elected leaders to end gun violence in our communities. That’s why we’re demanding action, and we want you to join us.
Right now, no matter where you live, there are many ways you can take action with Everytown for Gun Safety and our local Moms Demand Action volunteer chapters in all 50 states and D.C.Take action now and join the movement to end gun violence.
We’ll be in touch with more ways you can take action soon. Thank you for being with us.
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced a series of legislative reforms to address gun violence and outlined further action to increase mental health prevention, identification, and treatment to better protect Ohioans.
“Gun violence doesn’t just take the form of mass shootings, people are victims every day in Ohio and across the country,” said Governor DeWine. “I believe that this is both a public safety issue and an individual wellness issue – we must address both sides to help solve the problem. It’s time to do something, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”
This series of solid, workable reforms will help get guns out of the hands of people who should not have them under the law while protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens who are entitled to the right to bear arms and will help prevent and treat those struggling with mental illness.
Governor DeWine’s proposals include:
Safety Protection Orders
Governor DeWine is asking the legislature to pass a law to allow courts to issue Safety Protection Orders which would remove firearms from potentially dangerous individuals and get them the mental health treatment they need all while maintaining an individual’s right to due process.
Increased Access to Inpatient Psychiatric Care
Over the past several years, Ohio’s state psychiatric hospitals have become predominantly used by patients who are court-ordered there for restoration to competency to stand trial. This week 79% of the adults in our state psychiatric hospitals are under court order. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) is working to create a process where courts and community-based providers can work together to restore competency for those to stand trial in an outpatient setting which will free more hospital beds and decrease wait time for admission. The Ohio General Assembly will need to pass legislation to create this community-based misdemeanor competency restoration process.
Early Intervention
As part of the 2019-2020 biennium operating budget, the state is investing $675 million in wrap-around services for schools to design individualized programs, working with local mental health providers or social service organizations, to address the social and emotional challenges our students face.
Access to Behavioral Health Services
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is investing $15 million in telehealth mental health services to students, so no matter where a child lives, they have access to high-quality mental health care.
Risk Factor and Resource Identification
OhioMHAS will be working with communities to increase knowledge of risk factors, help parents identify when their child is showing warning signs of a mental illness. The department will share screening tools with clinicians and help connect community-based services to link parents, families, and schools with proven supports and strategies to manage a child’s wellness over the child’s lifetime.
Background Checks
Governor DeWine is calling on the Ohio General Assembly to pass a law requiring background checks for all firearms sales in the state of Ohio with certain limited, reasonable exceptions, including gifts between family members.
Increased Penalties for Felons Who Illegally Possess Firearms
Gun violence occurs in neighborhoods and communities every day across Ohio and the nation. Law enforcement reports that the majority of this violence is perpetrated by a relatively small number of individuals who don’t have the right to possess a gun. Governor DeWine is calling on the General Assembly to increase penalties on felons who illegally possess or use guns.
Increased Penalties for Violent Felons Who Illegally Possess Firearms
Governor DeWine is calling on the General Assembly to increase penalties violent felons and other people found with a gun they do not have the legal right to possess. The crime of having a weapon while under a disability is currently a third-degree felony punishable by a maximum of three years in prison. On a first offense, the crime should be a second-degree felony punishable by two-to eight-years in prison, and for subsequent offenses, it should be a first-degree felony punishable by three- to eleven-years incarceration.
Increased Penalties for People Who Commit Felonies while in Possessing Firearms
This proposal would increase penalties for people who commit felonies with a firearm or who possess a firearm while committing a felony to a mandatory additional one- to three-year sentence.
Increased Penalties for Brandishing a Gun
The General Assembly should pass a law that increases the penalty for those who commit a felony while brandishing a firearm to a mandatory three- to five-year sentence.
Increased Penalties for Straw Purchases
So-called “straw” purchases, the act of purchasing guns for or giving guns to another individual are currently illegal under Ohio and federal law. However, this practice is far too common, so Governor DeWine is calling on the General Assembly to increase the penalty for a straw purchase to a second-degree felony punishable by two to eight years in prison.
Increased Penalties for Illegally Obtained Guns
We should increase the penalty for a person who possesses a firearm that they know was obtained through an illegal or fraudulent purchase in order to avoid a federal background check. A person who possesses the gun should be punished in the same manner as a person who bought the firearm, increasing the penalty to a second-degree felony punishable by two- to- eight years in prison.
Increased Penalties for Those Who Improperly Provide Firearms to Minors
Too many kids are carrying guns on the streets often with tragic consequences. Adults who furnish firearms to minors must be held accountable. Governor DeWine proposes that the General Assembly increase the penalty for improperly providing a firearm to a minor to and a third-degree felony punishable by up to three years in prison.
School Tip Line
The DeWine administration is expanding the state’s school safety tip line, where kids and adults can call or text anonymously to 844-723-3764 with tips about potential school violence.
Social Media Monitoring
In a 24-7 world of social media, threats can arise at any time. The Hub at the Ohio Department of Public Safety is expanding its ability to monitor and track potential threats on social media and will share that information with local school and local law enforcement.
Community Safety
The operating budget provides nearly $9 million to help harden soft targets like non-profits and religious organizations to make their facilities more secure.
School Safety and Intervention Programs
Working closely with Sandy Hook Promise, Ohio’s schools are implementing their “Know the Signs” safety program across the state. This program equips school staff with knowledge and skills to identify potential threats of violent action and take steps to intervene. There are 23 training dates already scheduled.
“I believe these proposals fulfill three important requirements. They can pass the legislature, they make meaningful progress toward safer communities, and they are Constitutional. Passing them won’t be easy, but this is the right thing to do and this is the right time to do it,” Governor DeWine added. “We can pull together to do meaningful things to protect lives. It won’t be easy, but I believe in this state, and I believe in our people.”
CINCINNATI CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION AND STUDENTS DEMAND ACTION TO HOST WEAR ORANGE WEEKEND
CINCINNATI, OHIO – The Cincinnati Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, will host a Wear Orange Weekend featuring landmark light-ups, Mayor Proclamations, and a rally and peace march to honor the lives of all those affected by gun violence and to elevate gun violence prevention efforts nationwide.
Orange is the color that Hadiya Pendleton’s friends wore in her honor after she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15—just one week after performing in President Obama’s second inaugural parade in 2013. Orange honors the 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day—and demands our lawmakers take action that will help keep all Americans safer. Hundreds of Wear Orange events will take place across the country June 7-9 for Wear Orange Weekend.
LANDMARKS LIGHT UP ORANGE, JUNE 7 and 8
Due to the groundwork in the past from volunteers nationwide, America will light up orange June 7 and 8. In Cincinnati, Duke Energy’s iconic “CINCINNATI”, the Tyler Davidson Fountain, and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will join in lighting orange as they did in 2018. An addition this year is Fifth Third’s downtown office building.
NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION DAY PROCLAMATIONS, JUNE 7
Volunteers nationwide have been instrumental in obtaining proclamations from local governments recognizing National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Locally, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley will proclaim the day as part of his involvement in Mayors Against Gun Violence.
WEAR ORANGE RALLY AND PEACE MARCH, SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1-3 PM, FOUNTAIN SQUARE
A community rally honoring the lives of those affected by gun violence and elevating gun violence prevention efforts in Ohio and nationwide and peace march by Students Demand Action.
Attendees will learn about the work being done by Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action and by other community partners who share the dream of eliminating gun violence including Ohio Students for Gun Legislation, Ohioans for Gun Safety, The Young Activists Coalition, the UC Trauma Center and more.
Featured will be a special “Quiet Space” for survivors of gun violence with calming activities, a memory wall, community faith leaders, volunteers from Moms Demand Action offering “free hugs”, the Cincinnati Moms Dream Quilt created by local survivors. Also available will be therapy animals who spend time in hospitals, nursing homes and libraries. Face painting for children, juggling, food trucks, and a social media photo area are planned.
SPEAKERS
• Michele Mueller, volunteer Local Group Lead with the Ohio chapter of Moms
• Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
• Yousuf Munir, Walnut Hills Student and Co-Lead with Students Demand Action
• Pastor Jackie Jackson, Community Outreach Advocate and gun violence survivor who was himself shot in the hand when he was 10.
• Councilman P. G. Sittenfeld, City of Cincinnati
• Chief Criminal Attorney Kenneth L. Parker, Assistant United States Attorney
• Abbie Youkilis, MD, whose niece was shot and killed in the Parkland, Florida, School Shooting
• Officer Princess Davis, Cincinnati City Police Department
• Mara Nickels, Co-leader, SAFE (Scrubs Addressing the Firearms Epidemic)
• More
History of National Gun Violence Awareness Day
The color orange has a long and proud history in the gun safety movement.
Whether it’s worn by hunters in the woods of Pennsylvania, activists in New York City, or Hadiya’s loved ones in Chicago, orange honors the 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day—and demands action. Since the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day in 2015, hundreds of communities and organizations continue to commemorate that event by wearing orange, holding community events, lighting skylines orange, and issuing city and state proclamations.
Federal, state and local elected leaders, such as President Obama; celebrities, like Julianne Moore, Halsey, Angela Bassett, and Lin-Manuel Miranda; hundreds of national corporate and nonprofit partners, such as Viacom, Univision, Vogue, the National PTA and PlannedParenthood; have joined hundreds thousands of Americans nationwide to #WearOrange and call for an end to gun violence.
![Myth: Criminals will always find a way to get their hands on a gun. Fact: Laws like background checks stop gun sales to criminals every day. Since 1994, these laws have blocked more than 4 million gun sales to people who could not legally own guns. [source] EverytownResearch.org Connor Brooks, “Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2016-2017,” (US Bureau of Justice Statistics, February 2021); FBI: 2018-2020.](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111524A-07-640x640.png)
![Myth: Strong gun laws don't work. Look at Chicago. Fact: Chicago proves why we must push for strong federal gun laws. Many of the crime guns recovered in Chicago and in other cities in states with strong gun violence prevention laws can be traced back to states with weaker gun laws. [source] EverytownResearch.org Chicago Police Department,](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111524A-09-640x640.png)
![Myth: A small child cannot pull a trigger. Fact: Every year, hundreds of children age 17 and under gain access to a gun and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else—sometimes fatally. Nearly one in three of these shooters are ages five and younger. [source] EverytownResearch.org Everytown, “Preventable Tragedies: Unintentional Shootings by Children,” 2023.](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111524A-13-640x640.png)
![Myth: Arming teachers will keep our kids safer in schools. Fact: Arming teachers ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children and teachers. School safety experts and law enforcement oppose arming teachers. [source] EverytownResearch.org Everytown,](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111924A-640x640.png)
![Myth: Everyone already has to get a background check when buying a gun. Fact: Federal law only requires licensed dealers to perform background checks. That means that millions of guns are bought and sold by unlicensed sellers each year without one—often online or at gun shows. [source] EverytownResearch.org Miller, Hepburn, Azrael, “Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks,” 2017; Everytown, “Unchecked,” 2021.](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111524A-12-640x640.png)
![Myth: Shoot First laws provide everyone an equal right to self-defense. Fact: Shoot First laws, which allow a person to use deadly force even when they can safely walk away, disproportionately impact Black Americans. In Shoot First states, homicides in which white shooters kill Black victims are deemed justifiable 5x more often than when the situation is reversed. [source] EverytownResearch.org Roman, “Race, Justifiable Homicide, and Stand Your Ground Laws,” 2013; Everytown, “A License to Kill: Shoot First Laws,” 2021.](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111524A-03-640x640.png)
![Myth: Having a gun for self-defense makes individuals and their families safer. Fact: Guns in the home increase the risk that anyone in the house, including children, will die by firearm suicide or unintentional injuries. And, domestic abusers with access to a gun are 5 times more likely to kill their female victims. [source] EverytownResearch.org Everytown, “Preventable Tragedies: Unintentional Shootings by Children,” 2024; Choi, DiNitto and Marti, “Youth firearm suicide: Precipitating/risk factors and gun access,” 2017; Campbell et al., “Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: results from a multisite case control study,” 2003.](https://www.everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fork-Over-the-Facts-111524A-06-640x640.png)
Enough was enough when just one community was devastated by a shooting.
![[Urgent Message] Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/everytown-feature.jpg)
