Islanders condemn gun violence with wave of orange

The local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is collecting signatures for ballot initiative I-1491 to create extreme risk protection orders.

A red rose means I love you. A yellow carnation means I don’t.

But what about an orange daisy?

In flower folklore, it represents warmth and creativity.

But to a group of 50 who mustered at the corner of Highway 305 and Winslow Way last Thursday with signs, Gerberas and matching colors, the bloom meant something more.

It meant remembrance, for the 90 lives lost every day to gun violence.

In 2013, a group of teens at a south side Chicago high school asked their classmates to honor the life of their murdered friend Hadiya Pendleton by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. They inspired the Wear Orange campaign, a coalition of more than 300 nonprofits, cultural influencers and elected officials working to reduce gun violence in the United States. Spearheaded by Everytown for Gun Safety, the campaign asked Americans to do one simple thing on National Gun Violence Awareness Day: rep the hue.

More than 125 skylines and iconic landmarks lit up with orange, too, from Niagara Falls to Portland’s Morrison Bridge.

Bainbridge’s response, organized by the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, kicked off with a rally and speeches from Mayor Val Tollefson and State Rep. Drew Hansen.

Moms Demand Action is a national grassroots movement with 3 million members, founded in 2012 after the Sandy Hook shooting.

“We’re not anti-gun; we’re anti-gun violence,” explained Alorie Gilbert, the Moms Demand Action lead for Kitsap County. “We really try to reach out to gun owners and be inclusive and engage them in the conversation and solutions.”

The group’s activities include advocating for stronger gun laws and spreading information about gun safety.

“One thing we’re doing right now in Washington is getting behind this new ballot initiative, I-1491, with the Alliance for Gun Responsibility,” Gilbert said.

“It creates something called an extreme risk protection order. The basic idea is that family members are often the first to see warning signs that someone has become a danger to themselves or others,” she said.

The initiative would allow family members and law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove someone’s guns. It would also limit his or her ability to sell or possess firearms for up to one year.

In order to appear on the November ballot, the initiative needs 340,000 signatures by July 8. Moms Demand Action will host a booth at the Forth of July Street Fair to gather signatures and talk about their other big effort, a public safety campaign about secure gun storage in homes.