Everybody has a special person in their life. You know who I’m talking about -- they’re your person, the only one who seems to push the dark clouds hovering over your head away and embrace you with their internal sunshine. They make your seconds, minutes, days, and years better by simply existing. You don’t know what you would do without their kind heart, intelligent mind, and bright smile every day.

Then one day, a bullet destroys your sunshine forever. Your person is no more because of a careless act of gun violence. This is what happened to Hadiya Pendleton, a bright 15-year-old high school student from Chicago, on January 21, 2013. I wish I could say that this was a rare occurrence, but saying so would be incorrect.

Hadiya’s case is unfortunately one of thousands that have occurred across the U.S. over the last few years. The statistics are staggering; in 2015 alone, approximately 13,429 people, including men, women, and children, were killed as a result of a gun, and 27,001 were injured. And if that’s not enough to make your jaw drop, here’s another statistic: more people have died from gunfire between 1968 and 2011 (1.4 million deaths, to be exact) than in all of the wars the United States has fought in since the Revolutionary War (which would be 1.2 million deaths). While these numbers are extremely large, the number of people affected by these tragic acts of gun violence is immense. It’s like a ripple; when the bullet hits, it doesn’t just take the life of its target—it destroys the lives of this person’s family members and friends until millions are suffering from this ripple effect.

Thankfully, Hadiya’s loved ones didn’t let the ripple effect drown out their will to live. Shortly after her death, Hadiya’s friends felt compelled to spread the word about gun violence and how it affects millions of people. They created the Wear Orange campaign in her honor to bring awareness to gun violence in the United States. What started as a small project in Chicago blossomed into a nationwide campaign, creating National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2. This past June 2, the U.S. celebrated its second annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day in which thousands of children, teens, and adults wore orange and participated in marches to spread their message: “Together, we can end gun violence.”

The color orange was not just randomly selected; Hadiya’s family and friends thought it would be the best color to represent such a campaign. The color orange is often worn by hunters to signify to others that they are present and are not the target. Hadiya’s father states, “The orange let’s everyone know I’m here, I’m standing out.” And that is powerful.

You would think that with the shockingly high statistics that increase every year, campaigns such as Wear Orange would be highly supported. Unfortunately, not everyone supports gun violence prevention. On May 30, 2015, just three days before the first ever National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the National Rifle Association (NRA) stated that the Wear Orange campaign was “pointless” and a “thinly veiled anti-gun stunt.” This is where the NRA is wrong. Campaigns like Wear Orange are not anti-gun. They are proponents of gun violence education, including gun violence statistics and information on how to properly handle and keep a gun. They also support the Brady background check on all gun purchases.

Brady background checks are highly effective. In fact, since its establishment in 1994, more than 2.6 million gun sales have been blocked by the Brady background check, preventing dangerous felons, domestic abusers, and mentally ill persons from being gun handlers. Essentially, the Brady background check has a gun retailer contact the FBI to run a background check on the potential purchaser through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which will let the seller know if the potential purchaser is a felon, fugitive, domestic abuser, or has a history of mental illness.

While the Brady background check is effective in preventing dangerous persons from owning a gun, about 40 percent of gun purchases occur without a background check. This is because of a loophole in the system where gun purchases over the internet and at gun shows do not require background checks. Thus, gun violence prevention campaigns support legislation to close this loophole and require background checks for all gun purchases. I don’t know about you, but I know I wouldn’t want dangerous weapons in the hands of dangerous people.

Gun violence is a serious problem in the United States. 5,839 people have already died this year as a result of gun violence, and this number will more than double by the end of 2016. Pangs of pain course over my heart when I think about the tragedy that happened in my beloved elementary school, the tragedy that took beautiful lives and destroyed thousands of others. The pain someone feels who is directly affected by such tragedies is unimaginable and the lives that are affected are countless. I will not sit around and watch this country crumble to pieces because we are careless when it comes to gun violence prevention.

Join me and millions of others in protecting our rays of sunshine from the harm of a bullet. Wear orange, sign petitions, and participate in marches that will allow our message to be spread. While the NRA may believe that such campaigns are “pointless,” I say this: with enough people standing up to a rising problem in this country, our voices will be heard and action will be sought.