Ten Years, One Community: Adam's Nest, Gays Against Guns & Wear Orange Weekend
Commercial Street, Provincetown · August 2023. Honoring Lauri Carleton with the Gilbert Baker Pride flag. With thanks to Womencrafts.
Some businesses are born from joy. Some are born from grief. Adam's Nest opened its doors in Provincetown just six days after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando — June 12, 2016 — an act of terror that stole 49 lives from a queer community that had come together simply to dance.
We couldn't have known that weekend would define us. But it did. And ten years later, we carry that origin with us in everything we do.
Lauri Carleton, and why we march
In August 2023, we took to the streets of Provincetown carrying the biggest damn flag we could find — the Gilbert Baker Pride flag — to honor Lauri Carleton, who was shot and killed outside her shop in California for flying a rainbow flag. We marched and chanted and were seen and supported by almost everyone we passed.
Michele Axelson, owner of Womencrafts, put it perfectly:
On marching for Lauri
"Lauri was somebody and she deserved safer gun laws. If you are an ally, hang a flag, support your friends, pay attention to local school committees, and vote. Instead of just coming to Ptown to enjoy a taste of freedom and safety please go home and make your parts of the world safer for us."
— Michele Axelson, owner, Womencrafts, Provincetown · August 2023
That message is no less urgent today. Provincetown is a refuge. But a refuge is not enough. We need the whole world to be safer.
Born in the same moment as a movement
In the days that followed Pulse, grief turned to action across the country. In New York City, members of the LGBTQ+ community founded Gays Against Guns (GAG) — a direct-action group demanding an end to gun violence. Their founding and our opening share the same devastating week. That's not a coincidence we take lightly. It's a bond.
Our partnership
Adam's Nest has maintained a proud, longstanding partnership with Gays Against Guns since the week we both began. We share a conviction: that queer spaces should be safe spaces, and that silence in the face of gun violence is not an option.
Grand Marshals of NYC Pride 2026
This June, that conviction gets the recognition it deserves. Gays Against Guns has been named Grand Marshals of New York City Pride 2026 — a powerful, overdue acknowledgment of a decade of relentless advocacy. We couldn't be more excited for this group of queer activists leading the march; we'll see if we can manage sneaking away from Provincetown to march alongside them.
Wear Orange Weekend: June 5–7
The weekend of June 5 through 7 is nationally recognized as #WearOrange Weekend — a call to action for gun violence prevention. Orange was chosen in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, a Chicago teenager shot and killed just one week after performing at President Obama's second inauguration. Her friends wore orange to mourn her, because hunters wear orange to be seen and stay safe. Now, advocates wear it to say: we see the lives being lost. We demand better.
The message, out in the world
These aren't just shirts and hats. They're a statement worn by friends, regulars, and strangers who've carried this message from Provincetown to New York to wherever life takes them. Here's some of our community wearing it proud.
Worn by the community
1
2
3
4
5
From a pool in Cabo to a Provincetown sunset to a New York City sidewalk — the message travels. We love seeing where it lands. Tag us.
Shop orange. Show up.
In honor of Wear Orange Weekend and our tenth anniversary alongside this movement, we have a full selection of orange in the shop — tees and hats designed with Gays Against Guns, made for the march, the boardwalk, and everywhere in between.
Shoot Loads Not Guns tee
Front & back · Orange
Shoot Loads / Gun Reform Now tee
Unisex staple · Orange
Shoot Loads Not Guns hat
Blaze orange snapback
Orange and black snapbacks — in the shop now.
Shop the full orange collection →Ten years
June 12, 2026, marks a decade since Pulse. Forty-nine people should be here with us. We hold their names, and the names of the thousands of people lost to gun violence every year in this country, as we open our doors each morning in this small, stubborn, joyful town.
Provincetown can be your taste of freedom. But please — go home and make your part of the world safer for us too.
See you in orange.
— Adam's Nest, Provincetown
