A ‘Wear Orange’ wall was held June 8, with nearly 100 gun violence prevention advocates marching from West Hartford to Bushnell Park in Hartford.

Wear Orange walkers in West Hartford. Photo credit: Lena Stein

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On June 8, hundreds of thousands of people all across the country attended over 850 “Wear Orange” events to honor the victims and survivors of gun violence in America.  Orange is the color that Hadiya Pendleton’s friends wore in her honor when she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15 – just one week after performing at President Obama’s second inaugural parade in 2013. The color orange honors the more than 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day.

West Hartford residents and members of Moms Demand Action – Nicole Osier, Katie McCarthy, Amy Bieniek, Ellen Last, Kristen Manning, Leigh Eppinger, and Kate Martin – organized the second annual local #WearOrange walk. Nearly 100 advocates from around the greater Hartford area joined in for the walk.

The walk started at the West Hartford Town Hall and ended in Bushnell Park in Hartford. The group stopped at places along the way to honor victims and highlight public places where gun violence has occurred in our country – a movie theater, synagogue, church, school – as well as honoring the lives cut short by gun violence right here in Hartford.

The group heard from activists and community members who have pledged to continue to fight to keep our Hartford streets safe from gun violence including members from Mothers United Against Violence and Warren Hardy, founder of Helping Young People Evolve (HYPE). 

State Sen. Derek Slap, State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin also joined the walkers and pledged support for the cause. Last year the group walked over 16-miles to the 16 public schools in West Hartford.

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Wear Orange walk. Photo credit: Lena Stein

Wear Orange walk. Photo credit: Lena Stein

Wear Orange walkers at finish line. Photo credit: Lena Stein

Wear Orange walk. Photo credit: Lena Stein

From left: State Sen. Derek Slap, State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, Kate Martin. Wear Orange walk. Photo credit: Lena Stein