To mark the 39th anniversary of John Lennon’s death Yoko Ono has posted an emotional tribute onto social media.

John Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York apartment on December 8, 1980, when he was 40 years old.

In remembrance of her late husband, Ono sparked a conversation about American gun laws before moving on to describe the loss of John as a “hollowing experience.”

Ono wrote: “Dear Friends. Every day, 100 Americans are shot and killed with guns. We are turning this beautiful country into a War Zone. Together, let’s bring back America, the green land of peace.”

Accompanying the post was a statistic that revealed that over 1,400,000 people have been killed by guns in America since Lennon’s death.

Yoko Ono added in a separate post: “The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 39 years, Sean, Julian and I still miss him. Imagine all the people living life in peace.”

Last year, Paul McCartney attended the anti-gun ‘March For Our Lives’ in remembrance of his former Beatles bandmate.

Speaking to CNN, McCartney said of the march: “This is what we can do, so we’re here to do it. One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here so it’s important to me.”

In 2018, Lennon’s killer, Mark Chapman, was once again refused parole.

Speaking to Tim Teeman after Chapman’s the parole board hearing, Ono said she felt Chapman should never be freed and that she still fears the killer.

Yoko Ono said: “It’s very, very difficult for me to think about Chapman…Especially because he doesn’t seem to think that was a bad thing to do. One thing I think is that he did it once, he could do it again, to somebody else…it could be me, it could be Sean, it could be anybody, so there is that concern.”

Yoko Ono’s outdoor art installation, the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavík, Iceland, is lit up each year in memory of John from the date of his birthday until the anniversary of his death. You can see live footage from the tower below.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine