The video titled “Stop Gun Violence-PSA” depicts a teenage boy taking a gun from his mother’s dresser. He then puts it in his backpack and takes it to school. After class, the boy turns in the firearm to the teacher.
“Can you take this away?” the student asks the teacher. “I don’t feel safe with a gun in my house.”
With 320,000 views, the video has already stirred outraged reactions with around 6,300 comments. Most of the comments condemned the video as “irresponsible” with some claiming that it encourages kids to be unsafe.
“It endangers the children and others, and puts them at risk by encouraging them to handle weapons they probably haven’t had any training with,” one critic wrote.
Another weighed in that gun safety is about education.
“Gun safety isn’t about getting people to ‘steal’ guns and give them away but teaching people, children, adults, whomever about gun safety,” the commentator wrote.
These days the debate over gun control is gaining steam with recent incidents involving law enforcement in Ferguson and New York City. And the question over how to teach children about gun safety has remained at the forefront amidst what often seems like a perpetual string of tragic school shootings.
Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, a family therapist, said the video at least raises concerns about the issue of gun safety. He believes it might open dialogue with parents.
“Parents can use this as a tool to open a dialogue with their children about gun control and family well-being. They can also use it to let their children know they have a voice that is heard and respected,” he told Yahoo News Parenting.
Critics say the ad has, at best, fallen short of its proposed mission.
The video posted on December 13 is a clip of San Francisco’s Sleeper 13 Productions. It was shot at North Oakland Community Charter School in Oakland. School officials told the Washington Times they were not aware of the message and are now considering narrowing their screening process for PSAs to be filmed on campus.
Filmmaker Rejina Sincic stands by the message of the video, which is that parents shouldn’t have firearms in their homes. She noted that “society as a whole should take stricter measures” to curtail gun violence.
Yet, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said the producers should be held accountable.
“The message of this video is so monumentally stupid,” wrote Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “If any youth does something like this after watching it, the producers should face charges.”
