Harrowing Gun Control Campaign Sees Veteran Face an Uncomfortable Truth

Brady, one of America’s oldest gun violence prevention organisations, has launched a new message-tested advertising campaign to highlight the destructive impact of military-style assault weapons in our communities. 

In the PSA, US Navy veteran Dan Kirchner reads a story that sounds like a first-hand account of combat in a war zone. When he comes to the end of the letter, he learns for the first time that the author is not a fellow war veteran, but instead a mass shooting survivor, Josh - only six years old when a shooter turned an assault weapon on his day camp.

For BURN directors Greg Hardes and Aaron Chapman, the creative challenge was to get through to as many people as possible, without turning them off with preachy or political language. A war veteran who has served his country stood out as someone everyone can empathise with - regardless of political leanings. 

The directors spoke to Dan at length with the camera rolling, while he recounted his time in Vietnam. They wanted to get him into “the right headspace” for the final reveal when he learns for the first time who wrote the letter.

Director Greg comments: “We needed to avoid cheap shock tactics, but we also knew this couldn't just be another interview with a survivor. Unfortunately, we are numb to these stories - I think we have to be to maintain our sanity. The agency wanted to make sure this spot was grounded in reality, so the challenge was to come up with a misdirect that packed an emotional punch, while still maintaining truthfulness.”

Veteran Dan adds: “I hadn’t given the assault weapons ban much thought before I participated in this campaign. When the opportunity came up, I went for it because I wanted to do something, anything to help end mass shootings in our country. Reading Josh’s experience, it really could have been told by any of my fellow combat veterans - that struck a chord with me.”

In addition to the video, Brady produced a series of photos with the same tested message. These images show coffins draped with an American flag - an honour typically given to veterans and prominent Americans who die in service of our country or to defend its way of lif e- in everyday places where mass shootings involving assault weapons have become all too frequent, including a grocery store, a gym and a nightclub.

The campaign’s goal is to engage and inspire a culture change around guns in America and increase support for banning weapons that were designed for war zones. Due to their unique deadliness, they are all too often the weapon of choice for mass shooters in the U.S.

Kris Brown, president of Brady, said: "Just this weekend five people were gunned down in their home by an AR-15 in a matter of seconds – that is exactly why assault weapons have no place in civilian life. Tragedies like this are becoming increasingly regular in the U.S., and this campaign reminds people that these weapons of war are tearing apart our communities."

The campaign follows a deadly spate of preventable shootings across the US committed with assault weapons and recent Biden administration efforts to curb gun violence, including his call to reinstate the assault weapons ban along with expanding Brady Background Checks and increasing gun industry accountability.

In shootings where assault weapons or large-capacity magazines are used, 155% more people are shot, and 47% more people are killed. For the decade that the federal assault weapons ban was in effect from 1994 to 2004, 89 people died in 12 massacres. But in the decade after the ban expired – from 2004 to 2014 – over 300 people were shot and killed in 34 separate mass shootings. That’s a staggering 183% increase in massacres and a 239% increase in fatalities.