National Gun Violence Awareness Rally Planned In Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — After the Uvalde, Texas school shooting that killed 19 children and two adults and other mass shootings, a National Gun Violence Awareness Day rally will be held Saturday in Arlington.

The rally will be held by the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a group that supports stricter gun laws, at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Hope Garden near Courthouse Plaza in Arlington.

The rally begins Wear Orange Weekend to recognize those who have been impacted by gun violence in the U.S. and call for an end to gun violence. National Gun Violence Awareness Day falls on the first Friday of June every year.

In 2019, the Hope Garden, at the corner of 15th St. N. and Courthouse Road, was dedicated as part of the annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day/Wear Orange event. Along with wearing orange, attendees are invited to bring a rock to add to the memorial garden, or bring a new or gently used small toy for the community partners of Moms Demand Action.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 200 shootings with multiple people injured or killed so far in 2022, with the most recent being the Uvalde school shooting and Buffalo shooting that killed 10 people.

In 2020, former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed an "extreme risk protective order," also known as a "red flag" law, which allows for the temporary removal of firearms from people deemed to be at high risk of harming themselves or others. Virginia joined 19 other states and Washington, D.C., in having passed some type of "red flag" law.

The law is meant to prevent people showing signs of being a threat to themselves or others from buying or possessing a gun, and a limit on handgun purchases. The Virginia General Assembly also gave localities the authority to ban guns inside their facilities and parks, which many localities in Northern Virginia implemented. Legislation seeking to reverse gun control measures were defeated in the Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate.

In September 2020, the Arlington County Board voted to ban firearms in county government buildings, parks, and at designated special events.

On the federal level, groups are calling on Congress to pass background checks on all gun sales, a federal "red flag" law, regulation of "assault" weapons.