VIDEO: Moms, mayor, more @ ‘Wear Orange’ gun-violence-awareness rally at Alki

One day after what he had proclaimed to be Gun Violence Awareness Day in Seattle – concurrent with other designations nationwide – Mayor Ed Murray quietly participated in today’s Alki rally, joining the Wear Orange group that had walked from Anchor Park.

Murray didn’t speak. Two moms who lost their sons in deadly shootings did. The first, to homicide … the second, to what claims even more lives every year: Suicide. Some in the crowd could be heard crying as Rachel Smith-Mosel told the story of how her 20-year-old son Brennen Smith was able to get a gun in minutes while waiting weeks for mental-health care (we recorded her story in two parts):

(The health-care organization that made her son wait in 2015 later changed its policies, according to journalist Jesse Jones‘s report.)

Smith-Mosel’s requests to the crowd included that they support gun-safety education in schools and that they talk with their families about suicide prevention: “More access to mental health, less access to guns.”

The rally’s sponsors, Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, also displayed 93 pairs of orange shoes, one for each person shot to death on an average day in the U.S..

A week and a half ago, one of those lives was lost steps from the site of today’s rally, when 23-year-old Jordan Thomas was shot and killed at 62nd/Alki. His death was mentioned in organizers’ introductory remarks. His killer remains at large. Organizers stressed, “This is not about a gun debate, this is not about gun control – this is about doing what’s right for our kids.”

3 Replies to "VIDEO: Moms, mayor, more @ 'Wear Orange' gun-violence-awareness rally at Alki"

  • Jon June 4, 2017 (9:05 pm)

    This event is an active campaign for a non-profit gun control lobbying group (citation: https://momsdemandaction.org/campaigns/educators/ and https://wearorange.org/about/ which you linked to yourself) and it would be appropriate to mention that in the article. The “Wear Orange” marketing is to this group as the “Wear Pink” is to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure foundation. Also, Moms Demand Action and Everytown For Gun Safety mentioned within are one and the same (they merged in 2013 and make use of the same insignia). Finally, despite what organizers may have said to you, they are a multi-million-dollar gun control lobbying group, co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg. They were the financial backers for the campaign behind I-594, which passed in 2014.

    It seems odd to omit these facts from the article.

  • MD June 5, 2017 (6:05 am)
    • Jon June 7, 2017 (5:17 pm)

      How very insightful. Well, you’re free to “RESIST” your own rights, I suppose. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

      Beyond the level of hysteria going around in this country – particularly on the West coast – my opinion is that you’ll probably find your “opponents” (of whom you are supposedly “resisting”?) are typically friendly neighbors who are capable and willing of having a respectful conversation in regards to any differences. You might then find common ground and even come away with a new friend. Just a thought.

      Take care.

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