Why are activists wearing orange at anti-gun protests and rallies?

Many of the anti-gun protests across the country in the weeks since the deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla. that claimed the lives of 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have one thing in common: activists are seen wearing orange clothing. But why?

Just one week after performing at President Obama's second inaugural parade in 2013, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago. After her death, Pendleton's friends asked activists to speak out and wear orange to raise awareness about gun violence.

The message to where orange to honor Pendleton created an organization, 'We Are Orange', that has become a leader in the anti-gun community.

'We Are Orange' encourages activists to wear orange "for Hadiya and to honor the more than 90 lives cut short and the hundreds more injured by gun violence every day - and to demand action."

On their website, weareorange.org, the organization goes on to explain:

"Orange is what hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others from harm. Orange is a bright, bold color that demands to be seen. Orange expresses our collective hope as a nation — a hope for a future free from gun violence.

We are not headlines or statistics. We are mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, and friends. We are teachers, dancers, athletes and activists. We are here and we are united. We demand to be seen and we demand to see change.

Together, with thousands of Americans, we turned America orange. But the work doesn’t end there. Every town and our partner organizations continue to do life-saving work so that we can get closer to realizing a future free of gun violence. We wore orange to be seen, now demand that we will be heard."

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