Approximately eight children are shot each day by guns that have been improperly stored, typically found in American homes. That’s over 50 bleeding young bodies a week, due solely to human error. The statistics are baffling and heartbreaking but fortunately, they can be changed by just a few simple shifts in behavior by gun-owning adults. Such is the basis for the new #EndFamilyFire campaign, launched this week by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, with help from the Ad Council and myriad other partners fighting against gun violence and for increased gun safety.
And what, exactly, is “Family Fire?” It’s a brand new term that the initiative hopes to force into common use, even as they work to eliminate the very tragedies caused by it.
The organizations today are introducing a new term: "family fire," aimed at preventing shootings that result from improperly stored weapons or misuse of firearms in households.
The idea for "family fire" takes inspiration from now familiar terms that have helped to address other epidemics in our country: secondhand smoke, designated driver, friendly fire. "Our goal is to make 'family fire' a part of the vernacular in an attempt to change behavior and save lives," says Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council.
The campaign aims to be "something independent of any politics, completely non-partisan and non-political," says Ky Hunter, vice president of programs of the Brady Center. Considering family fire is just one facet of what we all know to be a broad public health crisis (no matter what the NRA says), this seems like a wise approach. Most importantly, the initiative attempts to address the people who have the most power—and responsibility—to fix the problem.
The effort aims to be a platform that all sides around the gun issue can rally around. "This really came from a desire to fundamentally change the landscape with regards to gun violence prevention," says Hunter. "A lot of Americans are feeling we're at a stalemate in this conversation. There are staunch sides -- one says we need guns to protect ourselves, the other says all guns are bad. But like most issues, the vast majority is in the middle.”
Hunter, who's also a Marine veteran, says the campaign is unique in that it brings into the conversation a group that has traditionally been left out: gun owners. "They're the people we want to talk to," she says. "I'm a gun owner myself, I grew up in the gun culture. A large majority of owners feel excluded. This is about engaging gun owners and making them part of the solution, not the problem."
The campaign is as multi-faceted as the gun debate. The startling PSA leads the attack, and if viewers find themselves confused and unsettled after viewing it, well, that’s the point.
As Duncan Marshall, a Creative Partner at Droga5, the agency who created the chilling little film, explains, the hope is that viewers will be haunted by the video and begin to question themselves.
"It's deliberately cryptic because we wanted people at the end of the spot to think, 'What did I see here?'"
In addition to the very well-done PSA, the initiative is further supported by endfamilyfire.org, a slick and terrifying website that is overflowing with great tips on how gun owners can secure their weapons and prevent senseless tragedies in their home. If you keep firearms in the home, even if you think you’re doing everything right, I implore you to check it out. After all, a whopping 4.6 million kids live in a home with at least one loaded and unsecured gun. Even if you think you’re above it all, take a look—you just might learn something.
Finally, the coalition behind the campaign is tackling the hard task of pushing a new term into common speech. That’s something all of us, especially those of us who chronicle gun violence here on Daily Kos, can help with.
To seed the term "family fire," the teams behind the initiative have reached out to editorial boards and reporters who cover gun violence, asking them to use the term when reporting on stories dealing with gun tragedies primarily linked to weapons not safely stored in the home.
View the full PSA below, and let yourself be shaken. That’s the point.
