SEATTLE, WA – The first weekend in June marks Wear Orange, a national campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the gun violence epidemic and showing solidarity with victims and survivors. This year, Wear Orange comes on the heels of unthinkable tragedies in Uvalde, TX, Buffalo, NY, and Laguna Woods, CA. In honor of Wear Orange, several Seattle landmarks, including Lumen Field, T-Mobile Park, and Climate Pledge Arena, will light up orange throughout the weekend. Gun responsibility supporters will also participate in a variety of actions to raise awareness about the urgency of gun violence prevention. 

WHAT: Seattle landmarks lighting up orange for Wear Orange 

WHEN: June 3-5, schedules will vary among landmarks 

WHERE: 

• Lumen Field
• T-Mobile Park
• Climate Pledge Arena 
• Others, TBA 

WHY: To raise awareness about the gun violence epidemic. 

About Wear Orange: Wear Orange was started in 2013 after 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago just one week after she performed at President Obama’s second inauguration. After her death, her friends and family chose to wear orange on her birthday, June 2, to honor Hadiya and the tens of thousands of lives lost to gun violence every year. They chose orange because it was her favorite color and it is the color hunters wear to protect themselves from gunfire. Since then, the gun violence prevention movement has carried on their efforts by making orange its signature color and wearing orange the first weekend in June. Learn more at wearorange.org

This year, Wear Orange comes on the heels of unthinkable tragedy. On May 24th, 19 elementary school children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX. Just over a week earlier, 10 shoppers were killed in a mass shooting at a Buffalo, NY grocery store carried out by a self-proclaimed white supremacist. The next day, a gunman opened fire at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, CA, killing one and wounding five others in a hate-fueled attack. 

###