Friday, Wear Orange Day!

Friday June 6 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Why do we bring this up? Because every day in the U.S., an astounding 125 people are shot and killed, and hundreds more are wounded or traumatized. By 2021, gun violence surpassed motor vehicle accidents, poisoning and cancer to become the leading cause of death in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This number of lives lost to gun violence is particularly heartbreaking when you compare US statistics to those of other nations; our number is significantly higher.

Wear orange clothing and/or accessories with us on June 6, 2025, to honor survivors and build community with those working to end gun violence. (Why orange? Learn more here.)

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has spent more than 50 years calling for gun safety laws in the face of gun violence, because we understand that being faithful stewards of the Gospel requires us to challenge the systems and structures that prevent all life from flourishing. The church is called to join with God in manifesting here on earth the kingdom that Isaiah envisions: a kingdom where weapons are beaten into plowshares and children learn the ways of war no more (Isaiah 2:4).

While mass shootings (understandably) garner much attention to the topic of gun availability, “that’s such a small percentage of the gun violence problem. Two-thirds of all gun deaths are suicides, and the majority of those are white males and particularly in rural areas. It’s not that these communities don’t have a gun violence problem; it’s just that oftentimes we like to frame the narrative around gun violence so that it’s criminal and about crime, and that’s a limited view of gun violence,” according to the Rev. Deanna Hollas, minister of gun violence prevention by the PC (USA).

Hollas feels that one of the most important things when it comes to educating people and congregations about the current gun climate is the origin of these weapons. By looking at the history of guns and gun manufacturing in the United States, we see our current gun violence epidemic is not a failure of individuals, Hollas says, but in fact a systemic problem that has been created by the gun industry to sell their product. “A gun doesn’t wear out. You don’t use it up; it’s not something you need to buy more than one of,” Hollas explained. “That’s always been a problem for the gun industry ever since the beginning of gun manufacturing.”

She continues, "gun manufacturers created what they called the ‘boy plan’ in which they targeted boys ages 10–16 and equated gun ownership with becoming a man,” Hollas said. “Therefore, gun ownership became embedded in the American male psyche. This is what we are dealing with today. I think it’s helpful for people to see that. ... This was intentional marketing by the gun industry in order to sell guns. My hope is that when we can see that clearly, when we can make it not about a personal failure but about a systemic issue that is being held in place because of profit, that we can begin to have a different conversation.”

So what should Christians do? “We just need to find our courage,” Hollis points out. “We have a good, strong theological foundation. We have Scripture. We have policy. We just need to be courageous and speak.”

Want to learn more about Presbyterians and this topic? See PC(USA) page and this article from The Presbyterian Outlook.