Billboard targets gun violence with a somber new message

[jpak]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/05/24/billboard_targets_gun_violence_with_a_somber_new_message/

One of the largest and most prominent billboards in Boston, which currently features an ad mocking gun shows, will be replaced today by a much more somber gun-control message.

The new look for the 250-by-20-foot billboard along the Massachusetts Turnpike near Fenway Park will feature a digital counter displaying the number of American children and teenagers killed by guns daily — a figure that will increase by 8 every day, based on the statistical average, according to John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence, a Newton group.

The counter will begin at 1,624, the number of deaths since the November elections, in which the National Rifle Association spent $6.7 million in a GOP takeover of the US House, said Rosenthal, who has used the billboard to display provocative gun-control messages since 1995. He said 200,000 commuters see the billboard every day.

“I hope to guilt them into do ing something — not just the commuters, but the elected officials — because every day they don’t do something, that number is going to increase by 8 children and teens,’’ Rosenthal said. “It’s unconscionable, and it’s shameful, and it’s Congress’ fault.’’

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[ileus]

dup

[ileus]

1. funny gun control wasn't even a topic during the election...

Why are these people scared of the NRA and a peaceful population being allowed to own life saving devices?

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

35. Sound familiar?

Sigmund Freud: "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." :scared:

[beevul]

2. Love the fine print.

0 BACKGROUND CHECKS IN 33 STATES


then in fine print

(for private gun sales)



Naw...not meant to mislead...


:sarcasm:


And its yet another example of total emphasis on the instrument, and no mention what so ever of the hand that wields it - something gun control advocates seem to do quite a lot.

[ileus]

3. They know their intended targets eat lies like that up.

[WatsonT]

34. Millions of Americans killed by Guns!

*since the creation of this nation, if we include wars.

The NRA currently donates to the campaigns of all politicians.

*excluding those it does not donate to.

Gun ownership rates directly correlated to murder rates.

*when 49 outlying states have been removed from the analysis.

[lawodevolution]

4. The solution to gun accidents is to teach gun safety and marksmanship in school

[spin]

5. Agreed! (n/t)

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Would we sell TNT at Walmart to kids and teach TNT safety?

Probably not. Stupid stuff happens: it's the human condition. Not that we need to outlaw gun ownership, but it seems folly to not have strict laws that recognize their potential for mayhem.

[ileus]

9. is TNT used for SD, target shooting, and hunting?

[rrneck]

15. Where I come from

fishing maybe.

:rofl:

[lawodevolution]

11. There is no gun accident crisis and no need to create laws or regulations with gun accidents in mind

but if you want to reduce the very small number of gun accident deaths that occur each year, gun safety in school is the way to go.

[Katya Mullethov]

28. You'll make a lot more hamburger with nitro

It'll just be a lot harder to find .

Are those drillers not the most hapless lookin' sons of bitches you've ever seen in your life ?

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Rec-ed up to 0. I love Massachusetts.

One of the few sane states in the nation.

Mr. Rosenthal is doing a great service by pointing out the stark facts.

[lawodevolution]

10. really. Will people who see the sign know that gun accident fatalities have been falling over the

last few decades and even before that? Will they know that gun accident fatalities are small compared to swimming pool accidents and many other types of accidents?

This is dishonesty and in the end dishonesty will lose more than you will gain on your side.

[eqfan592]

13. Exactly.

This sort of dishonesty on this topic is what has been damaging the entire progressive movement for years.

[friendly_iconoclast]

20. Rosenthal lives in a wealthy suburb and thinks gun laws are keeping him safe.

No, Mr. Rosenthal, living in rich, heavily-policed Newton is what keeps you safe.

[MannyGoldstein]

24. I live in Newton, too

Some parts are rich, but mine not so much. Policing isn't so heavy. I live right next to the Boston border, often walk a few miles late a night in Boston, no problems. Other parts of Boston are not as safe.

[friendly_iconoclast]

27. True, but Newton has a far higher *average* income than Boston.

The 'worst' parts of Newton might be compared to West Roxbury.

[gejohnston]

18. Facts? Where?

[friendly_iconoclast]

19. Why? Mass. is the perfect example of 'fighting drunk driving by restricting the sober'

If our gun laws are keeping us safe, then why does Vermont have a far lower murder and violent crime rate? Why do New Bedford

and Fall River have much higher murder rates than Manchester, NH? (for those unfamiliar, those three cities are all of similar

size and all three are economically challenged.)

[Name removed]

30. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[friendly_iconoclast]

38. Aw, man- what did I miss? Someone didn't care for a little inconvenient truth? n/t

[derby378]

7. What, no screed against "assault clips?"

Rosenthal must be slipping.

[lawodevolution]

12. This sign will only remind pro-gun people to donate to pro gun groups.

[eqfan592]

14. This sign has already had an impact.

I'm joining the NRA because of it. Their gun safety programs will do much more to reduce the few (yet tragic) accidental firearm deaths than anything the people that put up that sign have EVER done.

[lawodevolution]

16. The NRA should put up a sign for their gun safety classes around that area

[spin]

32. That's a great idea. (n/t)

[aikoaiko]

17. I love watching anti-gun groups fail and they don't even know it.

:rofl:

[Logical]

21. It amazes me that no anti can even begin to describe how they would get rid of guns. n-t

[oneshooter]

22. Much less how they will be paid for. n/t

[Logical]

23. True. They just complain and have no real solutions to their false worries. n-t

[Hoyt]

25. Used to be difficult to describe how to get rid of smallpox (or cigarettes). Guns eventually.

Might as well start now so that there are not millions of more to be dealt with 20 years from now. Too bad the gunners won't stop adding to their collection (which they hope to unload for big bucks).

[friendly_iconoclast]

26. There are two kinds of people that support Prohibition- Baptists and bootleggers

It's as true today as it was in Al Capone's time. The alcohol prohibitionists made the bootleggers rich back then , and those

advocating gun prohibition are doing the same for firearms collectors today.


I take great joy in knowing that the actions of people like yourself are helping to increase the value of the things that you

publicly despise.


Those 'caches' of which you often speak have become good investments, mostly thanks to people like you. Congratulations!

[spin]

33. Your side doesn't appear to have much support in Congress ...

or the Supreme Court, so how do you plan to start reducing the number of firearms?

Gun sales skyrocket every time a Democrat proposes a plan to register, ban or confiscate firearms. My mail box fills up with literature from the NRA-ILA hoping to get me to send money. Many of my fellow gun owners show up at the polls to vote against EVERY Democrat no matter what their views are on gun control.

Before the assault weapons ban few of my friends owned "black rifles". Before the ban went into effect they started to buy these firearms and they discovered just how versatile and accurate they were, therefore these weapons gained in popularity. During the ban, manufacturers simply changed some minor cosmetic details on the weapons and they sold like hot cakes on a cold winter morning. Of course everybody had to have a high capacity magazine for their new toy and these also were always available as the ban only applied to magazines manufactured after a certain date and tremendous numbers had been made before that date by companies who worked 24/7. High capacity magazines just cost a small fortune.

The assault weapons ban was probably one of the greatest successes the gun control advocates had achieved and it was a TOTAL failure and was finally allowed to sunset in 2004. It cost our party dearly in many Congressional and even Presidential elections. It may well have been the reason the race between Bush and Gore was so close that the Supreme Court was able to give the election to Bush. Remember that if Al Gore would have won his home state of Tennessee, he would have been President. There are a lot of gun owners in Tennessee.

I know that strong gun control is very dear to the heart of many in our Party but violent crime in the United States has been decreasing for years and we are faced with far more important problems. We can not afford to shoot ourselves in the foot once again. It's past time for our party to concentrate less on trying to take firearms away from honest owners and instead focus our efforts on finding solutions to how to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.

[beevul]

40. BUSTED.

"Used to be difficult to describe how to get rid of smallpox (or cigarettes). Guns eventually."

Contrast that with this:

"Guns at home are acceptable, but society does not benefit from armed folks walking around in public. I think that should be the line with some special exceptions like rural areas."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x356327#357898

Dishonest much?


"Might as well start now so that there are not millions of more to be dealt with 20 years from now."



Uh...ok:

"Have a gun in my home too."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=341484&mesg_id=341571


Why don't you set a fine example for everyone, and get rid of YOURS first eh? Or are you more of a "guns for me and not for thee" kinda guy, hoyt?


Why, at this point, should anyone believe anything you say?


:rofl:

[Kolesar]

29. How sad. Go look it up on the internet, it's there

[friendly_iconoclast]

36. No need to- one of our resident gun control exponents has told us how.

The (unarmed) armies of Canada and Mexico will simply collect them door-to-door....

...presumably to be followed by banning the study of metallurgy and chemistry, and making charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate

controlled substances, along with the impostion of East German- style border controls.


Everyone has a dream, it seems....

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

31. I'd like to challenge this...

...billboard :thumbsdown: on behalf of Dads of Daughters Distracted and Deceased Due to Dumb Signs (DDDDDDS). :sarcasm:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=02215&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Boston,+Massachusetts+02215&gl=us&sqi=2&t=h&layer=c&cbll=42.347878,-71.096372&panoid=18QCWbAIwIc1DWc2yYbcnQ&cbp=12,234.01,,0,7.51&ll=42.347719,-71.096008&spn=0.001065,0.002411&z=19">A better perspective.

[friendly_iconoclast]

37. It is a fuckwitted place to put a distracting billboard (directly ON the Mass Pike)

I suppose Rosenthal thinks accidents caused by distracted driving are a small price for other people to pay in order

to get his message out.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

39. "He said 200,000 commuters see the billboard every day."

That's nothing. A mere drop in the bucket of how many folks are lied to by politicians every day.