We are 21 weeks into 2018, and the United States has seen 23 school shootings which has resulted in at least one person being injured or killed. According to CNN, that averages out to more than 1 shooting a week. Fifteen have died on school property since the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed.
From taking a stand on Twitter and on live TV to protesting with March For Our Lives, the student survivors have taken it upon themselves to fight back against guns and gun violence with their words. Along with survivors from the Pulse Nightclub and Washington Navy Yard shootings, they continued their fight on Tuesday, in collaboration with The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and The Lipstick Lobby, to make a bold and loud statement against gun violence — by wearing a particularly badass shade of orange lipstick.
We are so honored that @JennyWadhwa1 joined us in our new campaign #FIREDUP! 100% of net profits from this shade go directly to @Bradybuzz . Join us in helping Brady reach their goal of cutting U.S. gun deaths in half by 2025 by shopping at https://t.co/KdmJyOgnJs pic.twitter.com/5AAwX3ToD8
— The Lipstick Lobby (@TLipstickLobby) May 29, 2018
For 40 years now, the non-profit Brady Campaign has been advocating for gun-control laws. The mission of their organization is to create a safer America by cutting the number of gun deaths in half by 2025. To achieve this goal, they have three tactics: to ensure that background checks are applied to all gun sales, to stop 5 percent of gun dealers that supp 90 percent of all crime guns, and to lead the national conversation about storing guns safely in homes, to prevent homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings that happen as a result of improperly storing gus.
So they, in collaboration with The Lipstick Lobby introduced “Fired Up,” a bright orange shade of lipstick — the same color of gun violence awareness and the inspo for the campaign name. All of the net profits from the shade will go directly to the Brady Campaign, and the money will be used to help fund the campaigns gun reform initiatives.
#TeamENOUGH exec. council member & Parkland survivor, Aalayah Eastmond is featured in @TLipstickLobby‘s newest campaign #FiredUP which helps support @bradybuzz efforts to prevent gun violence -> https://t.co/Lq90aF09jh pic.twitter.com/jV81F2SIhW
— Team ENOUGH (@Team_Enough) May 29, 2018
“We don’t really consider ourselves a ‘beauty brand,” Davida Hall of The Lipstick Lobby told Refinery 29. “We’re a social justice brand, and yes, we make lipstick, but it’s all about the proceeds, and where that money goes. That’s what we want to feel front and center of these campaigns: the issues, the people, the stories.”
Of course, lipstick isn’t the only way to make real, lasting change against gun violence (the best message to send is in the form of a vote). But it is a step.