The Toronto Raptors have launched a petition to observe National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Canada, where Canadians can honour the victims and survivors of gun violence and bring awareness to the issue. The day is observed on the first Friday of June in the United States; currently, Canada does not observe this day.

The Raptors hope to reach 100,000 signatures on the petition before presenting it to the House of Commons, where, if the motion is passed, the National Gun Violence Awareness Day can be observed in 2023.

“Gun violence doesn't stop at the border. Sign the petition,” urges Scottie Barnes in a video shared by the team on social media.

The National Gun Violence Awareness Day was initially declared to honour the life of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Black girl shot and killed in her hometown of Chicago in 2013. One week before her death, she had performed during President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. Shortly after, Pendleton’s friends decided to wear orange to commemorate her life. The Wear Orange campaign officially began in 2015–what would have been Pendleton’s 18th birthday. Now, the campaign runs alongside the National Gun Violence Awareness Day to honour all victims and survivors of gun violence. 

In Canada, the number of homicides involving a firearm rose to 37 per cent in 2020, compared to 26 per cent in 2013, according to Statistics Canada. Since 2014, there has been an increasing rate of victims of firearm-related violent crimes, and it was handguns that were present during the majority of these crimes at 59 per cent. 

In the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, the Canadian federal government is set to pass new legislation that would freeze importing, buying or selling handguns. 

During the Raptors’ 2019 championship parade, four people were shot near Nathan Phillips Square.