Strategically Communicating

This article published back in April made a resurgence into my news sphere, after Las Vegas and on News Engagement Day. I pondered as to if I should use it, however I found myself not being able to stop thinking about it and the question it posed if seeing the visual impact of what bullets do to bodies would change gun laws, or the way in which the public perceives guns and gun violence.

My 16-year-old daughter was the first I spoke with this about. She knows how to use a gun, as my father hunts. The reality of gun violence is all too real, and among her age group is not unheard of. She was horrified by the idea of the images and believed that seeing the images would impact her peer group, but was unsure about the adult population.

Rafi Colon: Gun shot victim. Abdominal scar, was a basketball sized open wound as intestinal wounds healed

I also spoke with two female friends, both from very different backgrounds. Their responses were strikingly similar. Sadly, no. That those of us who are against gun regulations would not find these images a reason to changes laws, accessibility, etc. Lastly, I spoke with my mother, and she echoed the sentiments of both my daughter and my friends. In that, with youth yes, with those who feel as their rights are being threatened at the mention of change, no. That there was nothing that would change their minds.

I was struck by the sad reality of what each person had to say, in that at this moment in our culture there seems to be nothing, not even the image of a bullet riddled child from Newtown could sway the gun rights activists.