More than 100 turn out for Gloucester's Wear Orange Day
Jun. 3—In the aftermath of the May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers, more than 100 people Thursday morning came to Gloucester City Hall wearing orange and listened to speakers rail against senseless gun violence.
"Each year we wear orange and raise the orange flag to show our city's support for sensible gun laws and to honor the victims of gun violence," said Mayor Greg Verga, sporting an orange tie. "There have been at least 233 —233 — mass shootings in the United States in 2022 ... Just last night four people were killed at a shooting at a hospital in Tulsa. Last week, 19 students, innocent children, and two teachers in a horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Texas."
"Families and victims deserve so much more than thoughts and prayers," Verga said. "I am personally sick and tired of thoughts and prayers. Now that the fact is, since we started preparing these remarks, we had to add 25 more victims to the list. That's ridiculous."
State Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, said when it comes to public policy, it doesn't make sense for an 18-year-old to be able to buy a gun, but be unable to buy a Lottery ticket, have a drink or go into a casino.
"What is that? It's insane. and if nothing else, I'm tired of the insanity," Ferrante said.
Close to home
The event to raise the orange flag, the color of gun violence awareness, at City Hall was organized by the mayor's office and Greg Gibson, a Gloucester resident and author of "Gone Boy," about the murder and search for answers in the death of his 18-year-old son, Galen, who was killed in a school shooting in 1992 at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Western Massachusetts. Gibson said his son was killed by a kid who bought a gun in a gun store and got bullets through the mail.
"I'm tired of words," Gibson shouted from the steps of City Hall. "We all know what happened. We all know what to do about it. If you don't know what to do about it and you want to do something, talk to me. I got plenty for you to do."
"It certainly shows that people are fed up, had enough, we'll see what it translates to in terms what can they do," Gibson said later of the outpouring.
The city has been holding a Wear Orange Day event for the past eight years, according to the mayor's office.
"If you think it can't touch a community here, it can," said Ferrante, a classmate of Galen Gibsson at Gloucester High. "Just ask Greg and I what it was like to lose Galen, and that was 1992, and the fact pattern was all the same."
Among those in attendance were former Mayors Sefatia Romeo Theken and John Bell, City Council President Valerie Gilman, Councilor at-Large Tony Gross, and School Committee members Laura Wiessen, Samantha Watson and Kathleen Clancy.
Verga said orange has become a symbol of gun violence prevention since the shooting of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, killed on a playground in Chicago a week after marching in a parade for President Barack Obama's second inaugural in January 2013. Wear Orange Day began on Hadiya's 18th birthday on June 2, 2015, wearorange.org, which adds that National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend are being held this June 3 to 5.
Changing laws
"We continue to see senseless acts of violence, and it's natural that we ask ourselves, what is it that we can do and why isn't it being done," said state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester. He said Massachusetts has passed reasonable regulations on firearms with bipartisan support. He mentioned a ban on bump stocks, legislation he introduced.
"We did it with the red flag law, which is legislation that I worked on," said Tarr, who said lawmakers continuously think about what they can do to head off another tragedy.
Gloucester resident and Stop Handgun Violence co-founder John Rosenthal, who noted he is a gunowner, spoke about the gun violence prevention billboard the organization put up along the Massachusetts Turnpike in 1994. "That was 1 million dead Americans ago from preventable gun violence. Words don't do it anymore. Thoughts and prayers don't do it anymore. They never did."
Rosenthal told the crowd they live in the safest state in the nation when it comes to gun violence with one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation.
"Congress," Rosenthal said, "and I am sorry Bruce, but it is the Republicans in Congress who give unrestricted access to military-style weapons, large capacity ammunition magazines without detection."
He said two-thirds of gun crime in Massachusetts occurs with guns purchased in states without background checks. The bipartisan effort to pass gun safety legislation in Massachusetts needs to be replicated elsewhere.
"Those spineless members of Congress think you should have a license to hunt duck and deer, and when you hunt duck you are limited to three rounds, when you hunt deer, you are limited to five rounds, to protect the duck and deer populations. But when you want to hunt babies in an elementary school, have at it. No license, no limit on the number of rounds. If that isn't the epitome of insane public policy, I don't know what is," Rosenthal said to applause.
Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-675-2714, or eforman@northofboston.com.
Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-675-2714, or eforman@northofboston.com.
