Los Angeles

Garcetti Announces Campaign Aimed at Curbing Gun Violence

"We will never accept gun violence as the new normal for our kids, and none of us can be silent when students see lockdown drills as the norm and there are bulletproof backpacks for sale in America"

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a public-awareness campaign Wednesday aimed at curbing gun violence.

The campaign, dubbed Louder Than Guns, was developed with advice from the mayor's Youth Council to End Gun Violence and a creative agency, and Garcetti said it is intended to inspire the city's residents to take action on the issue.

"We will never accept gun violence as the new normal for our kids, and none of us can be silent when students see lockdown drills as the norm and there are bulletproof backpacks for sale in America," Garcetti said in a statement. "Young people are leading the effort to make our communities safer, and Louder Than Guns is an expression of their commitment to change and a call to action for all of us to join them in building the future they deserve."

The campaign uses mock advertisements that appear to be insurance company solicitations, with some broadcasting a number such as 1-833-GUNSURE and offering bullet insurance, highlighting the prevalence of gun violence. The campaign website, www.louderthanguns.org, provides more information on its goal of ending gun violence.

"We may be teenagers, but we have grown up in an era of mass shootings and seen gun violence take the lives of our peers," said Paula Kim, a member of the Youth Council to End Gun Violence. "We can't wait for anyone else to shake themselves out of complacency, so we're taking our lives into our own hands."

On June 7, which is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the mock ads will be replaced by posters featuring the campaign website, where people can share their stories and become campaign ambassadors.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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