WASHINGTON — Yellow caution tape is curling around bushes, banisters and porches in an area neighborhood — not because a crime happened there, but to draw attention to gun laws.
“It’s literally caution tape, or police tape, that repeats that message, ‘Act now. Stop gun violence,'” says D.C. homeowner Babe King.
Those walking past her Chevy Chase, D.C., house pause and take in the sign she has under the tape, marking the anniversary of the Newtown school shooting.
Following a mass shooting, King joined a discussion with neighbors about how they could express their desire for a change and came up with the Yellow Tape Project.
“We realized what was missing and needed was a really strong visual with a united message that anyone and everyone — including individuals and organizations — could use to show their support of common-sense gun laws,” King says.
While the shooters in Newtown and San Bernardino purchased their guns legally, King says the aim of the neighborhood project is not political.
“Whether you’re a gun owner or not, Democrat or Republican, we should all want to stop the violence,” she says.
Among the reform the group wants to see: universal background checks, bans on assault weapons and gun buyback programs.
WTOP reached out to the NRA for comment.
The project is one of a handful of local grass-roots efforts in response to gun violence nationwide.
