(Forsyth County, GA) This weekend from Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4 the “Cumming Home” water tower along GA 400 will be lit orange in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow declared June 2 to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Cumming during a city council meeting Tuesday, May 16 in partnership with the Forsyth County Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America - just one day after a man was injured after being shot in a road rage incident in Forsyth County.
According to wearorange.com, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013, one week after performing at former President Obama’s 2nd inaugural parade. Her friends wore orange in her honor and to raise awareness about gun violence. The color has since become associated with ending gun violence, with it being the theme color of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Brumbalow read out loud several statistics on gun violence in the proclamation, saying that 120 Americans are killed by gun violence in America, with more than half of all gun deaths occurring in 127 cities.
Georgia has the 10th highest rate of gun violence in the country, with 1,693 people killed by guns last year.
The proclamation read “Cities across the nation are working hard to end the senseless violence with evidence-based solutions. Whereas protecting public safety and the communities they serve is the highest responsibility of elected officials. While support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from people with dangerous histories. And whereas elected officials and law enforcement officers know their communities best or the most familiar with local criminal activity and how to address it in the best position to understand how to keep their citizens safe.”
Moms Demand Action Co-Leader Anita Tucker gave a speech on the need to prevent gun violence, bringing up the road rage shooting from the day before and the mass shootings that have taken place throughout the country over the past year. Her son was studying for his final exams only one mile away from where the May 3 Atlanta shooting that injured four people and killed one occurred in Midtown.
“Clearly, no community is safe as we have witnessed this week with the road rage incident here in Forsyth,” Tucker said. “Gun violence is a complex problem that requires multiple solutions and actions … We wear orange to demand a future free from gun violence. Orange symbolizes the value of each person's life and we wear it to honor those killed and wounded by gun violence and to call for an end to this crisis.”
One day after the proclamation was made, a fight broke out between employees at a Forsyth County warehouse. One was killed and one injured after they both procured firearms and shot each other.
Tucker said Moms Demand Action will be working with the City of Cumming and Cumming Police Chief David Marsh to help educate parents on firearms safety in home and vehicles.
“It is a small non-political, yet critical first step in addressing guns, violence and safety,” Tucker said.
The group will also be hosting a “Wear Orange” picnic at Fowler Park this Saturday, June 3 where two survivors of gun violence will be speaking.
To learn more about the Forsyth County Chapter of Moms Demand Action, contact Anita Tucker at 678-557-6200.
If you have a news tip in Forsyth County, contact Justine Lookenott at justine.lookenott@newsbreak.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @justalookenott.
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