In the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton this month, MM&M put out a call for creative work that would help stem the tide of gun violence in the United States. We created the hashtag #InspireTheEnd and encouraged people to share their work. While entries are still open, we’ve received some work that’s worth sharing now. We present four of the submissions below.
We purposely left the criteria for the campaign somewhat vague. The problem we need to solve is that people use guns to kill other people. Sometimes those guns are handguns, sometimes they’re semi-automatic weapons. Sometimes they are owned legally, other times they’re unlicensed. Often, the victims know the shooters, while other times the shootings are random and indiscriminate. It’s a complicated problem to solve. So we didn’t ask for work that sought to simply ban guns or call for stricter background checks. We asked for work that sought to end the problem. And that’s what we present here.
As with any creative endeavor, the best work speaks for itself, so we offer it without comment. Please keep the work coming. We’ll continue to post the work we receive; it’s too important not to share.
*Click to enlarge each image
Peter Comber
Jay Sylvester, Havas Life Metro: Thoughts. Prayers. Action
Nam Do: One Shot
A hundred people are dying each day as the gun control debate budges back and forth. Opposing factions constantly condemn each other’s ideology, further dividing the already polarized American public. It is now more important than ever to remind ourselves of what we have in common, gun rights and gun control advocates alike: we all wish for the safety of ourselves and our beloved.
What’s scary about firearm violence is that a single gunshot can be lethal – one shot can change the lives of many, forever. While owning a gun is a constitutional right, or even a symbol of freedom in America, it also comes with great responsibilities. We must therefore hold ourselves and each other accountable for our actions as well as the lack thereof. The first step is to accept our differences and focus on a common goal – only then can we unite and together solve gun violence.
Darcy Grabenstein
We must be a voice for those who no longer have theirs. Put pressure on your legislators to toughen laws regulating semi-automatic weapons. At election time, vote to make a difference.
