Did you see the orange flag flying over the Tacoma Dome? Here’s what it was about

The city of Tacoma flew an orange flag over the Tacoma Dome in observance of National Gun Violence awareness day and Wear Orange weekend.

The orange flag was put up on May 23, just two days before the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a Washington state organization that works toward eliminating the harms caused by gun violence, held its second annual "Together We End Gun Violence" conference at the Tacoma Dome.

"We’re flying this flag on top of the Tacoma Dome to honor survivors of gun violence and raise awareness of our work in this space," according to a post by The City of Tacoma on Facebook.

The Wear Orange campaign takes place over a span of three days on the first week of every June and encompasses National Gun Violence Awareness Day, which is observed on the first Friday of June. This year, National Gun Violence Awareness Day was June 2 and Wear Orange weekend was June 3-4.

National Gun Violence Awareness Day and the Wear Orange campaign began after 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago in 2013. Pendleton's friends chose to commemorate her life by wearing orange because that is the color hunters use to protect themselves in the woods, according to Wear Orange.

Amy Newcomb is the Tacoma local data lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots organization that advocates for stronger gun laws to protect individuals from gun violence. Newcomb said that the color orange is used throughout the entire month of June.

"Orange is a familiar color to people who know guns, so we’re wearing orange because it's a symbol that we want to be seen, we don't want to be shot," Newcomb told The News Tribune this week.

Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards along with the Tacoma City Council presented a proclamation last month to representatives from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, the Mayor's Youth Commission and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to raise awareness about gun violence and also made June Wear Orange month.

Newcomb accepted the proclamation on behalf of the organization.

"It is not a surprise to us that Mayor Woodards is raising the flag literally and raising awareness through her gun prevention work," Newcomb said.

The orange flag remained flying above the Tacoma Dome from May 23 through June 4, with the exception of Memorial Day where it was switched for the POW flag.

Mayor Woodards and the Tacoma City Council also adopted Resolution 41197 last month that established $300,000 in additional funding for Youth Summer programming in Tacoma as a response to the issue of youth violence.

The resolution provides $200,000 to open the Whole Child Safe Zone site, a new summer program that aims to create 12 safe spaces for teens attending Tacoma Public Schools. The resolution also provides $100,000 to expand summer programs for middle and high school ages youth, according to Resolution 41197.

"[Mayor Woodards] is setting aside money this summer for safe havens at Metro parks for kids in the evening, so if they’re on the street and they feel endangered then they’re able to go to these parks and be safe," Newcomb said. "There's going to be crafts and activities and there will be adults there to help watch over them and that is such a massive support in the kids’ lives."

Gun violence was the leading cause of death in 2020 among children and teenagers in Washington state, according to data gathered by Alliance for Gun Responsibility in 2021.

Washington state's gun deaths increased 17% from 2012 to 2021, and the state has the 40th highest rate of gun deaths in the country, according to Everytown, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence.

"Every child deserves to survive to adulthood. The City of Tacoma has an obligation to do everything we can to make that happen," District 4 Council Member Catherine Ushka said during the City Council meeting on May 16.