National Gun Violence Awareness Day began with the shooting death of a 15-year-old teenager named Hadiya Pendleton, on January 29, 2013 in Chicago playground. It actually started with a group of teenagers who wanted to honor Hadiya whose birthdate was June 2, 1997. Senator Dick Durbin and representative Robin Kelly introduced the resolutions recognizing June as National Gun Awareness Month and June 2 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in honor of Hadiya and the many other victims of gun violence.
Wearing Orange. Wear Orange began on June 2, 2015. The orange color is vivid and is symbolic for safety therefore is worn by people across the nation on June 2nd to honor the countless victims and survivors of violent gun actions.