There’s a temporary Gun Violence Memorial at the National Mall

For the second straight year, former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ gun safety reform group put on a temporary installation on the National Mall to remember lives lost to gun violence.
This year’s Gun Violence Memorial included more than 45,000 flowers to represent the 45,222 Americans who died from gun violence in 2020. Giffords, who survived a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that left six people dead while she was a U.S. House member, called on lawmakers to “be bold” in taking action against gun violence at the installation’s opening ceremony.
“Stopping gun violence takes courage, the courage to do what’s right,” Giffords said. “Now is the time together, be responsible, Democrats, Republicans, everyone.”

Last April’s display on the National Mall was done in collaboration with visual artist Doug Landry and included 40,000 flowers for those who died from gun violence in 2019. Giffords also put on a similar installation in New York City’s Battery Park last October with 1,050 flowers for those who died of gun violence in New York state.
On the National Mall this year, organizers used white flowers plus 5,000 vases of orange flowers to represent the increase in deaths to gun violence in 2020. The Gun Violence Memorial is open through Saturday.
See more >> [How orange became the color for gun safety reform]
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