Wear Orange kicks off ‘Silence the Violence’ events throughout June

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) - National Gun Violence Awareness Day took place on Friday, June 2, which also marked the start of Wear Orange Weekend.

Geri Clark, the chair president of the North Flint Neighborhood Action Council, said she is doing what she can to prevent gun violence.

“When you get ready to go places, we shouldn’t have to worry about whether we’ll make it home,” Clark said.

The North Flint Neighborhood Action Council will partner with the Flint Police Department to hold a gun buyback event later this month. Details are still being worked out, but it will be held during the week of June 17.

That event is one of 25 “Silence the Violence” events that will take place during this month of action against gun violence.

“The guns that are on the streets are just in the hands of individuals that are just using them just for nefarious things,” Clark said. “And so, if we can get those guns off the streets, that’ll be much better than just having them in the hands of people that don’t know how to use them or shouldn’t have them.”

End Gun Violence Michigan and Moms Demand Action are also involved. It’s all part of the effort to put a stop to gun violence and save lives.

For her part, Clark said she wants everyone to know gun violence is not the answer.

“They used to have a saying, you know and I’m very old school, on a pack of matches, ‘Think before you strike.’ So, even those first three seconds of your madness or whatever it is you’re going through, is very crucial. Three seconds is very short, but just think about it for three seconds,” Clark said. “Do I need to go do this? Do I need this to happen? How is it going to change my life? How is this going to change that other person’s life?”

As part of Wear Orange and National Gun Violence Awareness Day, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland, and Volunteers from the Great Lakes Bay Region “Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense Group” will host an interfaith Wear Orange event to honor the lives of those affected by gun violence.

It starts tonight at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Saginaw Road in Midland.

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