TOW 19: Visual

The second amendment may protect American's right to bear arms, but that doesn't change the fact that gun violence is responsible for the deaths of 30,000 Americans each year. In this ad by gun control activists Moms Demand Action, the images of two children holding two very different objects are juxtaposed. One child holds a Kinder Egg, a popular European treat where a toy is encased in a chocolate egg, and the other an assault rifle; however, only one is banned--the Kinder Egg. This ad effectively shows the absurdity of gun laws: that a seemingly harmless toy is banned to protect children, but deadly fire arms are not. It would seem through this ad that the banning of assault rifles is an obvious necessity in the U.S. However, the author's goal of banning assault weapons in this ad has yet to reach fruition, and in fact probably never will. 

After each mass shooting that occurs in what seems like more frequent increments, there happens to be a period of time where Americans express their outrage regarding lax gun laws. And each time, it seems as if there might be progress made regarding the regulation of guns; however, no matter how many times outrage is expressed, there will never be any progress made. While this seems pessimistic, it is merely the unfortunate truth that is the consequence of a bitter and unbending system. Anti-gun activists continually advocate for gun bans similar to those in Australia and GB, however gun rights groups like the NRA hold so much sway within the American political machine that not even background checks will be approved by congress. The paranoid American is in constant fear of Big Brother taking away their second amendment rights, and this leads them to be against any form of gun regulation. Due to this, even the most minuscule goals of groups like Moms Demand Action such as banning extended magazines will never be reached.  

It seems obvious in this advert and to the majority of the first world that guns and absolute safety cannot coexist. Despite this, the fearful pro-Second-Amendment fervor of Americans will keep any progress from being made. So for now we will saved from the abomination that is a Kinder Egg, but at least we will be able to carry our heavy duty, extended magazine assault rifles.