photo by: Elvyn Jones

Amara Rill, 5, works on a coloring page on Saturday, June 4, 2022, at the Moms Demand Action anti-gun violence rally in South Park. Behind her is her mother, Anjali Rill.

Leslie Milton, the leader of the Douglas County chapter of Moms Demand Action, has been fighting to reduce gun violence for years, and she knows there are no quick fixes.

It’s a message she repeated on Saturday at the group’s annual Wear Orange rally and awareness-raising event in South Park. While recent mass shootings in New York, Texas and Oklahoma have led to many calls for change, Milton said she’s seen that before after other horrific events, and it hasn’t led to sweeping changes.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Milton said, quoting Shannon Watts, the founder of the national Moms Demand Action organization. “I can tell you, when I started with this, there were 90 Americans killed each week as a result of gun violence. Now there are 110.”

To stay positive, Milton said Moms Demand Action tries to chip away at the problem of gun violence with a smaller-scale legislative agenda. It also focuses on gun safety education efforts and supporting social service organizations like the Willow Domestic Violence Center.

Saturday’s rally drew a steady stream of visitors and included activities such as placing orange ribbons on the trees in South Park as memorials to gun violence victims. The group also had tables on which it shared information on various subjects — including one devoted to home gun safety.

Guns are now the No. 1 cause of death for American children and adolescents, Milton said. She said statistics also show that the people most likely to be harmed by a gun in the home are the gun’s owner and family members.

Milton said Moms Demand Action works with local governments to increase awareness of problems like minors accidentally discharging firearms. The group also visits the Kansas Statehouse every February to talk with legislators, and Milton said that even if lawmakers don’t embrace the proposed solutions, they listen to what the group has to say.

“We support any common-sense legislation that will reduce gun violence,” she said. “There is not one bill that will solve the problem.”

At a table with coloring books and other items for children, Lawrence mother Anjali Rill shared her proposal for preventing tragic incidents.

“I think there ought to be an age limit to buying guns,” she said. “I do not believe we need weapons of war on the street.”

photo by: Elvyn Jones

Moms Demand Action members wear orange shirts and share their anti-gun violence message on Saturday, June 4, 2022, in South Park.

photo by: Elvyn Jones

A sign bears an anti-gun violence message at the Moms Demand Action rally on Saturday, June 4, 2022 in South Park.