Scarsdale Recognizes Gun Violence Awareness Day

Scarsdale Trustees, Village Managers, legislators, residents and members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America gathered on the steps of Scarsdale Village Hall on the afternoon of Friday June 6 to recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

In the group were Mayor Justin Arest, Deputy Mayor Dara Gruenberg, Village Trustees Ken Mazer and Jeremy Wise, Village Managers Alex Marshall and Emily Giovanni, members of Moms Demand Action and representatives from the offices of Assemblymember Amy Paulin and State Senator Shelley Mayer.

The Mayor greeted the group and delivered a proclamation against gun violence and also remembered Pat Colella who was an active member of the group who passed away two years ago from pancreatic cancer.

Everyone dressed in orange and wore orange bracelets to commemorate the day.
Leslie Hansen Weiden from Moms Demand Action read the following statement:

Every day 125 people are killed with guns in America. The gun homicide rate in the US is 26 x that in other developed countries but research shows that common sense public safety laws can reduce gun violence and save lives.

On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a high school student from the South Side of Chicago, marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. She was only 15 years old. Soon after Hadiya’s death, her friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves. In June 2015, a broad coalition asked people nationwide to join what Hadiya’s friends started for the first annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Together, we will remember the millions of lives stolen or impacted by gun violence and take action in their honor. We Wear Orange to demand a future free from gun violence. This year for Wear Orange, we are focused on not only raising awareness, but on the many actionable steps we can all take to protect our families and communities. From parents, to community partners, to law enforcement, to elected leaders, to responsible gun owners who securely store their guns to keep our communities safe, this effort takes all of us.

Hadiya should have turned 28 this month. We honor her and all whose lives have been taken or forever changed by gun violence.

We also honor a long time Scarsdale resident and Moms Demand Action volunteer Pat Colella who lost her battle to pancreatic cancer 2 years ago. Pat was a dedicated leader and volunteer for Westchester and NY State Moms Demand action. She was passionate about ending gun violence in this country and for many years she arranged for the signing of the Wear Orange proclamation and spoke at the Scarsdale village board meeting educating the community about gun violence in this country and the damage it does to families.