Week 05 - Proposal

Problems / Needs:



The Root of the Problem:

1. People who have guns can kill people
Guns, guns,.. Lots of Guns. There are way too many guns out available to public. Guns kill people? People kill people?



Columbine, Virginia Tech.. 46 notable school shootings, from 1966 to February 2008.
There had been 5 shootings in 2008, as of now. More info


2. Media
Media ranging from movies, music, and games influence public to become indifferent about violence. Sometimes media glorifies violence, and it can have great impact on our youth.

Movies:

Guns, Lots of guns.






Video games:


















3. NRA
The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of firearm ownership rights, marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and self-defense in the United States, established in New York in 1871 as the American Rifle Association.
The NRA sponsors firearm training courses and events featuring shooting skills and sports.



Also the NRA is sometimes said to be the single most powerful non-profit organization in the United States. It bases its political activity on the principle that gun ownership is a civil liberty protected by the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and claims to be the oldest continuously operating civil liberties organization in the United States. According to its website, the NRA has "more than four million members."

Laws to limit individual handgun sales to one a month: Blocked by NRA

Laws to ban semi-automatic weapons that can be converted to automatic fire: Blocked by NRA


Observation:

Between 1994 and 1999, there were 220 school associated violent events resulting in 253 deaths - - 74.5% of these involved firearms. Handguns caused almost 60% of these deaths.

In 1998-99 academic year, 3,523 students were expelled for bringing a firearm to school. This is a decrease from the 5,724 students expelled in 1996-97 for bringing a firearm to school.

The National School Boards Association estimates that more than 135,000 guns are brought into U.S. schools each day.

America is losing too many children to gun violence. Between 1979 and 2001, gunfire killed 90,000 children and teens in America.

In one year, more children and teens died from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined.

American kids are 16 times more likely to be murdered with a gun, 11 times more likely to commit suicide with a gun, and nine times more likely to die from a firearm accident than children in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

Every day, more than 80 Americans die from gun violence.


Goal:

We need to create a campaign for awareness [1] to effectively persuade the public away from guns, [2] to educate the youth while media's corrupting their brain with guns and violence, and [3] to expose deeds of NRA and laws preventing abolishment of guns.


User:

1. Younger generation who is easily influenced with media
2. The Parents
3. Public who is not aware of the issue
4. Gun advocates / NRA


Solution:

1. Educate public with visuals (easy enough to understand),
2. Emphasize the negative effects and fatal incidents,
3. More accessible information (interactive online websites),
4. Public display / Art installations
5. Campaign videos (like truth videos)
6. Chris Rock's suggestion



“Everybody is talking about gun control. Got to control the guns. Fuck, that…. No, I think we need some bullet control. I think every bullet should cost five thousand dollars. Five thousand dollars for a bullet. Know why? Cos if a bullet cost five thousand dollars, there’d be no more innocent by-standers. That’d be it. Some guy’d be shot, you’d be all ‘Damn, he must’ve done something, he’s got fifty thousand dollars worth of bullets in his ass!’ And people’d think before they shot someone ‘Man I will blow your fucking head off, if I could afford it. I’m gonna get me a second job, start saving up, and you a dead man. You’d better hope I don’t get no bullets on lay-away!’ And even if you get shot you wouldn’t need to go to the emergency room. Whoever shot you’d take their bullet back. ‘I believe you got my property?’ That’s right.”


Interface:



1. Online video campaign
2. Interactive websites with visuals diagrams, polls, information, and links
3. Public display / Art installation


Precedents:



1. http://www.thetruth.com/
An effective method to create public awareness against corporations


Alpay's proposal