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Union County Sponsors Rally and March in Support of Gun Violence Awareness, Saturday June 8 at Nomahegan Park

Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders in partnership with the Union County chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America invites residents to join a rally and march in observance of Gun Violence Awareness Day on Saturday, June 8 at Nomahegan Park, 1107 Springfield Avenue in Cranford, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

“The County of Union supports the fight against senseless gun violence in our communities and we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that our community is safe for our children and all residents,” said Freeholder chair Bette Jane Kowalski. “We are proud to partner with Moms Demand Action and fight for common sense gun reforms.”

The June 8 event will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a rally featuring faith leaders, victims of gun violence, and local officials, followed by a march to honor the lives lost due to gun violence.

Attendees are asked to show their support by wearing the color orange.

Just one week after performing at President Obama’s second inaugural parade in 2013, Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15. Orange is the color that friends wore in her honor. After her death, her loved ones asked Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to stand up, speak out, and wear orange to raise awareness about gun violence.

Orange has been the color of the gun violence prevention movement ever since. The color orange honors the more than 100 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day.

Moms Demand Action was founded by stay-at-home mom, Shannon Watts, on December 15, 2012, in response to the devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The organization quickly flourished into a leading force for gun violence prevention, with chapters in all 50 states and a powerful grassroots network of concerned citizens that has successfully effected change at the local, state and national level.

In 2018, mayors from 14 Union County municipalities in signed a Statement of Principals against illegal guns at an event in Rahway co-sponsored by the Freeholder Board and Moms Demand Action.

For more information about the national Moms Demand Action organization visit online at momsdemandaction.org. To join the Union County chapter of Moms Demand Action, email pficoucmoms@gmail.com.

National Gun Violence Awareness Day is formally observed on the first Friday in June each year.

For more information about this event contact Nathalie Hernandez, Coordinator, Union County Office of Community Engagement and Diversity at nahernandez@ucnj.org or 908-527-4880.

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