Yoko Ono Calls For Gun Control In The US On John Lennon’s Death Anniversary

John Lennon, the late husband of Yoko Ono was shot to death on December, 8, 1980 by a crazed man who tracked him from Hawaii. He shot him as he came out of his New York apartment. He shot him fatally, and ever since Yoko Ono has been calling for gun control in the United States and the world. She has boycotted, plead and spoken out in favor of gun control. She has been a strong advocate of it since her husband was murdered. 

A Champion of Gun Control

Her husband was shot over 39 years ago by a man outside his home in New York. John was one of the 4 iconic members of the legendary band The Beatles who topped the charts with their innovative and unique sound for years. He is best remembered for his hit song ‘Imagine’ which he performed in 1971. Yoko Ono was his wife at the time of his death and she was associated loosely with the band.

On the anniversary of his tragic death, she once again called for gun control in the United States. She and her children take this issue very seriously. She tweeted that the United States needs to actively pursue legislation that is a comprehensive gun control bill. But the steps must go beyond thinking, debating, and lobbying, it must become a reality. Across the country today, parents live in fear of sending their kids to school because of the high number of mass shootings happening at schools and colleges. In lieu of legislators passing meaningful common sense gun legislation, people are now resorting to buying bullet proof backpacks and body armor plates as self defense.

Yoko Ono believes the US has become a war zone with people being able to get guns far too easily. All the mass shootings in schools, churches, and shopping malls are becoming common place. 

She stated that over 1,400,000 people have been shot and killed by guns since her husband was shot and killed in cold blood. She shared a picture of his glasses—the ones he wore on the night he was killed—and one of the lenses was splattered in blood and the blood was never wiped off the glasses.

Yoko went on to say that losing a love one by being shot to death is traumatic even 39 years later. She and her children still miss him and implied that they are still in shock he is dead. Tweeting that 100 people are shot a day by guns in the United States, the activist believes the numbers can be drastically reduced or eliminated if strict control laws are passed and enforced.

She has been tweeting about gun control measures for a few years now and the total deaths caused by guns increases every year. In 2013 and 2016 she tweeted the same basic message about instituting gun control laws and she posted the same image of the glasses.

This may take into account all the mass shootings we have experienced in the United States, in the last few decades especially in the last decade.

Imagine

Yoko Ono, who guards the memory of John Lennon with a vengeance, authorizes all the information and albums that will be released about him. She has authorized the release of “Imagine: The Ultimate Collection” which is based on John Lennon’s iconic song ‘Imagine'. She has previously said the one line in the song that meant the most to her and she has held dear for years is this one: “I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”  

This has the most significance for her because she hopes that the world will be of one mind and unified. She was asked “Where does peace begin?” and she answered that it begins in each individual's heart. The song was written almost in one sitting and it has gone on to be an anthem for world peace through the years.

Her Thoughts on Peace  

The shortest day in the winter solstice is December 21, and a couple of years ago in Reykjavik, Iceland “The Imagine Peace” tower was lit. The tower was artwork imagined by Yoko Ono in 2007, in memory of her late husband. The tower is only lit 3 times a year – on John Lennon’s birthday in October until his death in December, from Dec 21 until New Year’s Day, every spring to commemorate the wedding of John and Yoko, and on Yoko’s birthday. She has been made a citizen of that city in Iceland. Her tower is an international symbol for world peace. 

She recently was the recipient of the Ono-Lennon peace grant which is an award given every two years in front ONO’s apartment in New York.

Since John's death, Yoko has worked to make a name for herself as an activist and artist, showing the world that the creative vision she shared with her late husband was very much hers as well.

On her latest album, ‘Warzone’ – the fourteenth of her career – Ono covers the song ‘Imagine’ in what feels like a reclaiming of the song’s narrative for herself.

“By the time I sung it, it was alright, but it suddenly occurred to me that many people [were] going to be listening to it. That was frightening,” she said.

She concluded that what John Lennon said to people was powerful but what she said was another story. Yoko has always been outspoken and passionate about humanitarian issues, and especially for gun control. She continues to use her voice and iconic status to advocate for peace, and the kind of world John Lennon hoped to see.

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