White House, celebrities don orange on National Gun Violence Awareness Day

The White House illuminated itself in orange and celebrities wore the color on National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the aftermath of several high-profile shootings in New York, Texas and Oklahoma.

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund marked Friday as the start of a weekend campaign to wear orange to commemorate those who have survived or lost their lives to gun violence. Friday also marked National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

This weekend, more than 350 events are taking place where people will come together to wear the color and urge the Senate to take up gun reform. 

The White House’s north facade was lit up in orange on Friday, and a number of celebrities posted pictures of themselves wearing orange on social media.

“Today we #WearOrange for the families who lost those they loved most to gun violence. The time to act is now. @Everytown http://wearorange.org,” late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel tweeted, showing himself wearing an orange shirt with the words “wear orange.”

“This National Gun Violence Awareness Day, join me in lending our voices to those who no longer have one due to senseless gun violence. Wear orange and share your pic on social media with the #WearOrange hashtag,” comedian Amy Schumer wrote in a post on Instagram, along with a photo of herself and her family wearing orange. 

“Today I join @Everytown and @MomsDemand in fighting for common-sense gun safety #wearorange,” “Spider-Man 3” actor Topher Grace tweeted, showing himself in an orange shirt.

Even sports teams posted photos of themselves wearing orange to raise awareness. 

“Today, the team wore orange-themed practice shirts in honor of #GunViolenceAwarenessDay. The shirts will be auctioned off to benefit two Philadelphia-based organizations, Frontline Dads and @phillymic → http://bit.ly/3xib42x #WearOrange | #EndGunViolence,” the Philadelphia Eagles tweeted, along with a photo of the team.

The photos come as several shootings have rocked the nation, including in Buffalo, N.Y., Uvalde, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla. 

A bipartisan group of senators has been working on gun violence legislation, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that a gun package would be voted on next week.

But the path forward remains unclear given that the Senate will ultimately need at least 10 Republicans to back the legislation in order for it to pass.