On Saturday at Island Park about 100 people gathered in all shades of orange to honor victims of gun violence and advocate for change. The Wear Orange movement honors lives lost to gun violence and the first Friday in June is National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
State Senators James Manning and Floyd Prozanski spoke to the crowd about two bills currently stuck in the Oregon congress, HB 2005 and Senate Bill 348. Senator Manning described HB 2005 as a ban on ghost guns, “ I believe it’s very reasonable, we are not attacking the 2nd Amendment. I am looking out for the people who don’t want guns around, so your kids can go to school safely, so you don’t worry that they won’t make it home.”
Senator Prozanski spoke about Senate Bill 348, designed to help implement Measure 114 which voters supported in 2022. He reminded the crowd that these bills are going to die in Congress because Republican Senators have walked out. “Our Republican colleagues are not showing up to work. Tell your Senators to come back to work, for 30 days they haven’t filled a quorum.” Prozanski also shared a personal story about his sister who was killed 50 years ago by gun violence from her partner.
The event had several displays including a board where people could share their reasons for wearing orange, 600 orange flags planted in the ground to represent lives lost to gun violence in 2022, and a display of newspapers from May 21, 1998, the day of the Thurston High School shooting.
