Orange signals safety, caution, alertness. Today, June 2nd, it signals a stand against gun violence.
Today, we #WearOrange to show our commitment to ending gun violence in America. We’re joining millions of voices to fight for an end to this human rights crisis.
Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, language, or other status.
Human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty and freedom of expression; and social, cultural and economic rights including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, and the right to work and receive an education. Human rights are protected and upheld by international and national laws and treaties.
Yet in America, guns kill more than 30,000 men, women and children every single year. Whether you’re walking down the street, in a school or at church no place is truly safe.
Among high-income countries, the United States accounts for:
- 80% of all firearm deaths
- 86% of women killed by firearms
- and 87% of all children up to the age of 14 who are killed by firearms
In the United States, firearm homicide rate 20 times higher than the combined rates of 22 countries with comparable wealth and population size, no extensive research as to why this is the case.
When governments fail to protect the right to life and personal security, gun violence becomes a human rights issue.
The United States is a party to two of the international human rights treaties – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the U.S. government has clear and urgent obligations to protect the people living in this country from gun violence. But the U.S. has a patchwork of inconsistent and inadequate federal and state gun control laws and has failed to take all measures necessary to prevent gun violence.
The lack of legislation action, to reduce this man-made epidemic continues to hold our country at gunpoint and prevent us from exercising our human rights.
to save lives and end this human rights crisis. Join us today & #WearOrange to END gun violence.
Every person, everywhere, has a right to live safe from gun violence. End #GunViolence #WearOrange pic.twitter.com/eRHS1Q8jzM
— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) June 2, 2016
The Inspiration
The Wear Orange campaign was initiated in response to a particular case of gun violence. Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago at 15 years old. Although, all cities across the United States are affected by this type of violence, the city of Chicago’s gun violence rate is alarmingly elevated, and has been particularly devastating for the city’s youth.
Motivated by the death of this teen, organizations across the country worked towards creating a national action that would bring attention to the epidemic of firearm-related violence.
Amnesty International USA is joining Everytown, along with religious, domestic violence, mental health and numerous others organizations that have come together to strengthen the impact of this important work.
June 2, 2015 would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday and it will become a day that signals the dedication and determination of community organizations, survivors and activists throughout the country to bring an end to gun violence.
Together, we can end gun violence.
http://www.rferl.mobi/a/czech-tv-station-controve…
Very true that gun violence needs to be reduced. Perhaps the best way to do that would to improve education and economic opportunity. We need to provide a level playing ground for all. If kids feel there's a future for them and have stable families, they will be less likely to join gangs.
Guns are a tool nothing more. If one seeks to provide safety and security for the protection of ones own they are an effective deterrent to those who would otherwise seek to over power the populous. However in the hands of evil people they are a tool of chaos and death of innocent people. Yet this has always been the case since the invention of the spear, Arrow, sword, and so forth. Good people defend others; bad people do what they do either with a gun or a Truck as we saw this week in France.