National Gun Violence Awareness Event Planned In Falls Church

FALLS CHURCH, VA — After the Uvalde, Texas school shooting that killed 19 children and two adults and other mass shootings, a National Gun Violence Awareness Day event will be held Sunday in Falls Church.

The event will be held at Clare & Don’s Beach Shack at 130 N Washington St. at 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 5.

The event is part of 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.

"Dig out your Wear Orange gear (or anything orange) and join us at Clare & Don's Beach Shack to raise awareness about gun violence," the event announcement says. "Enjoy some tasty food with your neighbors and learn about what you can do to reduce gun violence in our community and our country."

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.

Falls Church voted unanimously in 2020 to enact a “Firearms on City Property and Events” ordinance that went into effect on Nov. 1, 2020.

The ordinance prohibits the possession of firearms, open or concealed, in City of Falls Church-owned locations such as City Hall and the Community Center, parks, facilities and streets when city-sponsored events are occurring.

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.