Gabrielle Giffords Brings Gun Violence Memorial To Exposition Park
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A somber display of white flowers in Exposition Park is remembering the 3,400 people who died of gun violence last year in California.
The temporary display was brought to Los Angeles by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a critical brain injury sustained in a 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz. The Exposition Park display is similar to one that went up in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, that paid tribute to 45,000 victims of gun violence.
"We are at a crossroads," Giffords said. "We can let the shooting continue, or we can act."
Each flower placed in a white vase in Exposition Park represents a person and a family changed by gun violence, which is on the rise. In California alone, homicides have gone up 30% from 2019 to 2020, primarily from gun violence. Black and Latino communities were disproportionately impacted.
The memorial will be open to the public through Friday. Giffords, meanwhile, will host a roundtable conversation at SoFi Stadium Wednesday with several community organizations, including the Los Angeles Rams, the Urban Peace Institute, and Homeboy Industries.