A group of 200 top producers, directors, and writers of movies and TV have pledged to reconsider the use of guns in storytelling and incorporate gun safety best practices in their scripts after the mass shootings in Uvalde (Texas) and Buffalo (N.Y.).
Open letter was started by Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. It has been signed so far by many talents, including Judd Apatow and Debbie Allen, Bill Lawrence, Adam McKay and Shonda Rhimes, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer, and Bill Lawrence.
The letter includes the following:
“Guns feature prominently in movies and TV across the globe. But America is the only country with a serious epidemic of gun violence. Lax gun laws, supported by politicians who are more concerned with losing power than saving lives, are the main culprits. We are not responsible for the problem, but want to fix it.
“As America’s storytellers our goal is to entertain but also recognize that stories can have the power of influencing change. Movies’ and TV’s influence has influenced cultural attitudes towards smoking, drinking, seatbelts, and marriage equality. It is time to improve gun safety.
“We don’t ask anyone to stop showing guns in movies. Writers, directors, and producers are asked to consider on-screen gun violence as well as best gun safety practices.
The pledge promises that characters will lock up their guns safely and make them inaccessible for children. “Have at least one conversation during preproduction regarding how guns will be depicted on screen and consider alternative narratives that could be used without sacrificing narrative integrity.” Limit scenes that include children and guns, “bearing mind that guns are now a leading cause of death among children and adolescents” in the U.S.
The letter concluded that “We are not under any illusions that these actions can replace common-sense gun legislation.” This list doesn’t include every gun on the screen. These are minor steps that we can all take as a community in an effort to end the national nightmare.
