By Patrick Baron
BLOOMINGTON – Dozens of members of McLean County Moms Demand Action and the League of Women Voters came out to White Oak Park Saturday wearing orange to call for an end to gun violence.
The Town of Normal and the City of Bloomington recently signed a proclamation declaring June 1 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day. In a show of support for the proclamation, a number of people wore orange shirts and walked around the lake at White Oak Park to signify their unity in the fight to bring gun violence to an end in the country. Moms Demand Action co-leader Karen Irvin explained the group doesn’t want to take away guns from legal gun owners, they simply want schools and streets to be a safe place for their children.
“We’re a group that supports the Second Amendment rights of citizens and we also believe that there are loopholes that can be closed, legislatively, to make gun ownership more safe and to have more responsibility with that,” said Irvin.
Irvin added the group is nonpartisan as it has members from both sides of the gun control debate who want to halt gun violence.
Julie Hile, a resident of Normal who attended the event, explained the best way to end gun violence is to be open with one another and have a clear discussion on what can be done to protect children.
“There is work that has to be done on mental health reform and on gun reform,” Hile explained. “Let’s have a dialogue about that and let’s figure it out.”
The event also had a number of children walk alongside their parents in the hopes of raising awareness. Teagan, a fifth grader at Prairieland Elementary, said it gives her hope that gun violence can end when adults
“They could stop it if they come together and they talk about it and they talk about why they want to stop it,” Teagan explained.
The color orange was chosen to draw parallels to when hunters go out and wear orange. The group explained when hunters see others wearing orange while on the hunt, they know not to shoot and to respect the life of the person wearing the color.
Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].
