Anchorage Assembly recognizes Gun Violence Awareness Day after contentious debate over statistics

The Anchorage Assembly passed a resolution 9-3 Tuesday recognizing June 5, 2026 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day and June 5-7 as Wear Orange Weekend, but only after a contentious debate over dispute to strip language about gun deaths and economic costs.

The debate centered on whether the original language conflated gun violence deaths with all firearms deaths including suicide, and whether economic cost estimates from advocacy organizations belonged in an official municipal resolution. An earlier amendment to strike the first two whereas clauses entirely failed on a 6-6 vote, with the member who proposed it arguing the resolution's foundational claims lacked statistical rigor.

The measure arrives more than a year after Assembly member Daniel Volland announced in April 2025 that he intended to postpone two gun-safety ordinances indefinitely and replace them with a community gun-safety resolution.

April Ratchford, identifying herself as Anchorage local lead for Moms Demand Action, thanked sponsors and invited the public to a June 15 discussion at the Beartooth Theater about gun violence prevention.