TOWNSHIP URGES WEARING ORANGE FOR ANTI-GUN VIOLENCE PROTEST

From Mayor Vic Deluca:

Urge Residents to Wear Orange and Join Meet-Up in Maplewood Memorial Park

Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca and South Orange Village President Sheena Collum will proclaim June 2, 2016 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day. They urge residents of the two towns to “Wear Orange” on the 2nd to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and declare that we as a country must do more to reduce gun violence. De Luca and Collum will join more than 100 mayors from 31 states who are participating in the 2nd Gun Violence Awareness Day.

“Take a stand against more killings by wearing orange and joining your neighbors at the 7pm June 2nd Wear Orange event in Maplewood Memorial Park at the bottom of the hill,” said De Luca. “Let’s get a big crowd to help send a message across this country that we need to deal with gun violence now,” said Collum.

SOMA residents organized the local Wear Orange Event, which will include a group photo. More than 150 Wear Orange meet-ups are set to take place in communities nationwide.

The Wear Orange Campaign (www.wearorange.org) is a coalition of more than 200 organizations, artists and musicians, and elected officials working to reduce gun violence in America. The Campaign was inspired in 2013 by a group of Chicago teens to commemorate the life of their murdered friend, Hadiya Pendleton, by wearing orange, the color hunters wear to protect themselves in the woods. Hadiya was shot and killed one week after performing at the second inaugural of President Obama.