Julianne Moore & More Stars Pledge to 'Wear Orange' on National Gun Awareness Day

Today, more than 25 cultural influencers and 60 U.S. Mayors joined the coalition of best-in-class organizations and activists pledging to "Wear Orange" a color that symbolizes the value of human life on June 2 nd, the first-annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Wear Orange is a new campaign that amplifies existing efforts to reduce gun violence in America and helps honor the 88 Americans whose lives are cut short by gun violence every day. In the past two weeks, more than 140 groups and luminaries have joined the campaign, including MTV, Motown Records, HBO, Vans Warped Tour, Essence Magazine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Brady Campaign, and Million Mom March.

Participating cultural influencers include Julianne Moore, Russell Simmons, Sarah Silverman, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, Aasif Mandvi, Alyssa Milano, Padma Lakshmi, John Hodgman, Amanda Peet, Perez Hilton, Melissa Joan Hart, Tiffani Thiessen, Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio, Rise Against, Mario Batali, Anti-Flag, Nigel Barker, Grace Weber, Jon Foreman, Judith Hill, Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors, Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees and Thomas Roberts of MSNBC. Efforts of note on June 2nd include:

• MTV- The network will change its on-air logo as well as several of its social media avatars to orange in recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
• Motown Records - The most widely recognized record label in history, Motown will turn its iconic logo orange on its social media platforms (@Motown on Twitter, @MotownRecords on Instagram) with staff and artists #WearingOrange.
• HBO - The network will debut the trailer for its hard-hitting new documentary, Requiem for the Dead: American Spring 2014, from Emmy-Award winning filmmakers Shari Cookson and Nick Doob, which premieres on HBO June 22 nd at 9:00pm EST/PST. Told entirely through social media postings, news accounts and other found media, the new documentary offers an unvarnished portrait of the human toll from gun violence in America giving viewers a window into the lives of dozens who died from gunfire last spring through the present-tense moments leading up to the shootings and the reverberations that followed.
• Essence Magazine - Essence staff will be #WearingOrange, sharing their orange selfies on Instagram and Twitter and encouraging their readers to join in the Wear Orange campaign.

"We're often presented with a false choice in the guns debate: that you have to 'pick a side'," said Michael Stipe. "But every American opposes gun violence and all of us can do more to help save lives. I'll wear my orange with pride on June 2nd and hope people nationwide will join me in showing their true colors."

"Motown Records has a legacy of being the voice of a generation through our artists and fostering an environment of creativity and innovation. In these times, more than ever, it is crucial for all of our voices to collectively come together on June 2 nd for the first-ever National Gun Violence Awareness Day to raise awareness and promote anti-violence so that the voices of today, and tomorrow, have a chance to be heard," said Ethiopia Habtemariam, President, Motown Records. "We encourage fans and artists alike to join us on June 2 nd by #WearingOrange and honoring the life of Hadiya Pendleton, and all those lives senselessly lost to gun violence."

Elected officials committed to protecting their constituents from gun violence will also be wearing orange on June 2nd. Members of Congress from coast to coast, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, former New York City Mayor and co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Michael R. Bloomberg, as well as mayors in more than 60 cities from 20 states representing more than 10 million Americans around the country have joined the campaign. Mayors who will be wearing orange on June 2nd, many of whom plan to issue proclamations declaring June 2nd Gun Violence Awareness Day in their cities, include Mayors Emanuel (Chicago), Nutter (Philadelphia), Lee (San Francisco), Walsh (Boston), Hales (Portland, OR), Wharton Jr. (Memphis), Slay (St. Louis), Schneider (Santa Barbara), Murray (Seattle), Peduto (Pittsburgh), and Coleman (Columbus, OH). The full list of elected officials participating in Wear Orange is available below.

Newly added supporters of the Wear Orange coalition include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Brady Campaign, the Caliber Foundation, CT Coalition Against Gun Violence, Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence, Media Matters, Million Mom March, MomsRising, National Council of Jewish Women, New Mexicans for Gun Safety, North Carolina Coalition Against Gun Violence, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, and Parents Against Gun Violence. The full list of announced partners is available below.

Wear Orange and National Gun Violence Awareness Day was inspired by a group of Chicago teens who asked their classmates to commemorate the life of their slain friend, Hadiya Pendleton, by wearing the color orange. Hadiya was claimed by gun violence just days after marching in President Obama's second inaugural parade. Her friends chose the color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods. Orange acknowledges that America has a proud heritage of responsible gun ownership, while also reflecting the value of human life. This June 2nd would have been Hadiya's 18th birthday; First Lady Michelle Obama will deliver the commencement address at what would have been Hadiya's graduation ceremony on June 9th.

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Additionally, today the Wear Orange campaign released a new video telling the story of Hadiya's tragic death, how her friends and family refused to let her die in vain, and how what they started on the south side of Chicago is becoming a national movement. You can view the video at http://wearorange.org/#play.

Anyone can join the Wear Orange campaign by visiting wearorange.org and using the website's pledge tool to change their social media profile picture or share why they'll be #WearingOrange on June 2, the first-ever National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Partner Organizations	Members of Congress	Mayors
American Academy of Pediatrics Americans For Responsible Solutions Amnesty International USA The Brady Campaign The Caliber Foundation Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus CeaseFirePA Center for American Progress (CAP) Coalition to Stop Gun Violence CT Against Gun Violence CREDO Everytown for Gun Safety Generation Progress Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence Hadiya's Promise Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence International Action Network Against Small Arms (IANSA) The JED Foundation Know Your IX Media Matters for America Million Mom March Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America MomsRising MoveOn.org Civic Action National Coalition Against Domestic Violence National Council of Jewish Women National Network to End Domestic Violence Newtown Action Alliance New Mexicans for Gun Safety New Yorkers Against Gun Violence North Carolina Coalition Against Gun Violence Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence Parents Against Gun Violence Project Orange Tree Purpose Over Pain Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV) Sandy Hook Promise States United to Prevent Gun Violence Stop Handgun Violence Suicide Awareness Voices of Education Team 26 - Sandy Hook Ride on Washington The Reform Jewish Youth Movement (NFTY) The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) WAVE Educational Fund Women Against Gun Violence (WAGV)	Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL) Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)	Adolpho Gmez - Tolleson, AZ Steve Tate - Morgan Hill, CA Edwin Lee - San Francisco, CA Helene Schneider - Santa Barbara, CA Cheryl Heitmann - Ventura, CA Marjorie Sloan - Golden, CO Clint Folsom - Superior, CO Stuart Fraser - Telluride, CO Samuel J. Ferreri - Greenacres, FL Philip K. Stoddard - South Miami, FL Rick Kriseman - St. Petersburg, FL Rahm Emanuel - Chicago, IL Elizabeth Tisdahl - Evanston, IL Nancy Rotering - Highland Park, IL Karen Freeman-Wilson - Gary, IN Martin J. Walsh - Boston, MA Bill Carpenter - Brockton, MA Nathan Triplett - East Lansing, MI Dayne Walling - Flint, MI Bobby J. Hopewell - Kalamazoo, MI Marvin D. Johnson - Independence, MN Francis G. Slay - St. Louis, MO Lydia E. Lavelle - Carrboro, NC Mark Kleinschmidt - Chapel Hill, NC William V. "Bill" Bell - Durham, NC Barbara Simmons - Enfield, NC Jim Maley - Collingswood, NJ Lester E. Taylor III - East Orange, NJ Domenick Stampone - Haledon, NJ Gayle Brill Mittler - Highland Park, NJ Paul Anzano - Hopewell, NJ Paul J. Kennedy - Ocean Gate, NJ Marc Pasquini - Oxford Twp, NJ Jose "Joey" Torres - Paterson, NJ Liz Lempert - Princeton, NJ Gloria J. Chavez - Tijeras, NM Jen Laird White - Nyack, NY Peter Scherer - Pleasantville, NY Dan Dwyer - Rensselaer, NY Thomas Roach - White Plains, NY Michael B. Coleman - Columbus, OH Gary Middlemus - Frazeysburg, OH Kathy Mulcahy - Orange Village, OH Daroll Nicholson - Donald, OR Charlie Hales - Portland, OR Robert J. Donchez - Bethlehem, PA Verncel L. Creveling - Briar Creek, PA Timothy A. Scott - Carlisle, PA Donald Baumgarten - Castle Shannon, PA Terry S. Bennett - McDonald, PA Thomas Reenock - Northampton, PA Geoffrey L. Henry - Oxford, PA William Peduto - Pittsburgh, PA Michael A. Nutter - Philadelphia, PA Michael Fritz - St. Lawrence, PA Gerald W. Gross - West Easton, PA Tom Leighton - Wilkes-Barre, PA Edwin Garca-Feliciano - Camuy, PR A C Wharton Jr. - Memphis, TN Lucy Krakowiak - Burien, WA Jennifer Gregerson - Mukilteo, WA Mia Gregerson - SeaTac, WA Edward B. Murray - Seattle, WA

SOURCE Wear Orange

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