Activists in Henderson wore orange, demonstrated against gun violence

Henderson’s Cornerstone Park was bathed in orange Thursday evening as several dozen members of Moms Demand Action and other Las Vegas Valley residents donned the color to promote gun safety and commemorate gun violence victims and survivors.

Thursday was National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and the chapter met in the park to promote its Be Smart Campaign, created to encourage parents to ask about the presence of loaded firearms in a house. Be SMART aims to reduce the number of unintentional shootings when children get a hold of a gun.

“I am a survivor. Many years ago my younger brother Louis Pacheco committed suicide with a gun that wasn’t his. I think about it everyday,” said Linda Cavazos, 65, a chapter volunteer.

Cavazos, a family therapist for 18 years, said that as a gun owner, she has found it easier to get a firearm than to land a hospital bed for a patient. “It’s not about taking away the guns, it is about gun safety.”

That’s why she supports Question 1. If passed, the measure, which was certified as of May 17 for the Nov. 8 ballot, would require a person who wants to sell or lend a firearm to run a background check on the buyer or borrower.

Not far from the measure’s proponents and Mom’s Demand Action members at the park, a dozen opponents of firearm background checks and other restrictions peacefully demonstrated against the measure.

“I do not consider myself a violent person, and most gun owners are not violent people,” said Matt Hennager, Southern Division director for Nevada’s chapter of the National Rifle Association.

Hennager said he does not agree with ballot. “It is a violation of our constitutional rights, and it bypasses state’s rights in Nevada.” He is dedicated to the ownership and safe use of firearms for self-defense, competition, recreation and hunting.

Bilal Shabazz, a 68-year-old retiree, supports the Moms Demand Action chapter and is an advocate for gun violence prevention. He volunteers because he lost a grandchild before birth when his daughter-in-law was shot in the abdomen in an armed robbery. It angers him “that nobody was ever arrested.”

Elsewhere Thursday, the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada sign, Las Vegas City Hall, the High Roller at The Linq and Brooklyn Bridge at New York-New York all turned orange for National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The #WearOrange campaign began in 2013 on the South Side of Chicago in response to growing gun violence awareness and to commemorate those who have died because of it.

Three years ago, Nza-Ari Khepra decided to wear orange in memory of her friend Hadiya Pendleton, who was killed by gunfire at age 15. Hadiya was shot just two weeks after performing for President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2013. Today she would have turned 19.

Khepra is the founder of Project Orange Tree and co-creator of #Wear Orange. “Seeing the movement grow in states across the country and learning about all of the activity happening on June 2 this year brings me hope that we are making progress to end gun violence,” she said in a news release about the event.

Contact Tatiana Villamil at lvillamil@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0264. Find @tatianavr92 on Twitter.