Artwork Raises Awareness of Gun Violence

Bonnie Lautenberg, left, and former
congresswoman Gabby Giffords (Giffords.org)

“Americans are demanding a safer future, and if we come together we can create a future free from gun violence,” says Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Founder of the gun violence preventing organization Giffords.org. 

“This vital message is reaching more people across the country, thanks to the artist Bonnie Lautenberg’s powerful artwork Guns Kill.” 

Giffords’ non-profit organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is joining forces with the artist Bonnie Lautenberg.

Contributors at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/miamiexhibit will receive a first edition Guns Kill fine art print, signed by Lautenberg (all 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Giffords organization’s mission to protect Americans from gun violence). 

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​“I created this artwork especially for Gabby Giffords,” says the artist Bonnie Lautenberg. “I added tears streaming down the Statue of Liberty's face, the two simple words ‘Guns Kill’ on her crown, and locations of mass shootings across Lady Liberty’s arm. It saddens me deeply that the list of mass shootings keeps growing with so many places where Americans continue to lose loved ones to gun violence,” adds Lautenberg. 

The new awareness campaign “Guns Kill” comes at a time when reckless new legislation in several states (including Florida) allow people without any permits or training to carry concealed firearms. 

People who have never passed a background check or fired a gun in their lives are allowed to carry a concealed gun in public. Before these laws were passed across several states, people who wanted to obtain a concealed carry permit were required to pass safety standards. 

These provisions helped ensure people with a history of violent behavior could not carry firearms in public places. Studies show that weakening public carry laws is associated with a 13–15% increase in violent crime rates, as well as an 11% increase in rates of homicides committed with handguns. 

One recent study found that when states weakened their concealed carry laws and removed provisions like live fire training and violent misdemeanor prohibitions, they experienced a 22% increase in gun assaults and a 35% increase in gun homicides. 

In her art, Bonnie Lautenberg asks: what is of importance, how can art move and inspire viewers to take actions in their own lives? 

“During this time, there can be a sense of powerlessness. But my works are about the opposite. These are works about personal power. Women using their own power and talents to amend what is going awry, women like Gabby Giffords who are braving and bettering the world,” says Bonnie Lautenberg.