Coffins Appear in Gyms, Nightclubs and Grocery Stores, Urging Ban on Assault Weapons

School shootings followed by “thoughts and prayers” have become commonplace across the nation, prompting the nonprofit Brady Campaign to create outdoor ads and videos urging a ban on assault weapons (which were outlawed from 1994-2004).

Flag-draped, kid-sized coffins appear wildly out of place in grocery stores, nightclubs and school gymnasium. Given the context, the casket in the gym is most jarring of all, and sadly on point.

“Assault weapons were designed for war zones. Not our communities,” each ad reads, directing folks to BradyUnited.org.

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“This campaign was born out of anger, out of hate,” says Fede Garcia, global CCO of agency BCW, which developed the ads. “It was after another senseless shooting last year, when an angry chat between some folks in BCW developed into a series of ideas. These tragedies happen so very often in this country that we’ve almost become numb to them.”

Billboards can be seen in Times Square and Bryant Park in NYC. A video shows a Navy veteran discussing how bullet wounds shatter lives. As the camera pans out, we see that the veteran isn’t speaking about himself—he’s reading the story of a 6-year-old boy remembering what it was like to be trapped in a mass shooting.

“I feel that the time is coming when politicians can no longer ignore this issue,” Garcia tells Muse. “So, everything we can do, we should do. It counts. It matters. There’s a saying in Argentina, that loosely translated would be ‘the droplet that pierces the stone,’ Consistency matters. Every idea counts. We need to keep doing everything that’s in our power to end this issue. Eventually we’ll pierce the stone.”

In a separate initiative, bipartisan group 97Percent Advocacy and Wunderman Thompson just launched “Aim for Change,” backing common sense gun laws and speaking to firearms owners in this video:

“‘Aim for Change’ gives gun owners a tangible way to voice support,” said 97Percent co-founder Adam Miller. “Our research clearly shows the majority of gun owners support key gun safety reforms, but they feel left out of the conversation. ‘Aim for Change’ is a way to unite gun owners, as well as demonstrate to non-gun owners, the media and legislators that this issue is not nearly as divisive as it is made out to be.”