Some bus stops across L.A. are getting big new posters advertising “Mass Shooting Insurance” and coverage for “Everyday Gunfire.”
That insurance isn’t real. But the message is meant to shock you.
It’s all part of a campaign designed by L.A. teens participating in Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Youth Council to End Gun Violence. The goal: to spread awareness about the prevalence of guns in people’s everyday lives.
The youth council launched last year and is made up of 14 high school seniors. The campaign, called “Louder Than Guns,” was designed by and grew out of their frustration over what they describe as the normalization of gun violence across the country.
Each poster lists a hotline number and website featuring resources on efforts to prevent gun violence.
“We just wanted to make something that would catch people’s eye, would bring their attention to just how bad the situation is right now and create more awareness,” said 18-year-old Katherine Henriquez, a senior at Van Nuys High School and a member of the council.
On Wednesday, at a bus stop on a busy intersection a few blocks from her high school, Henriquez came to see the poster up-close.
“It’s finally tangible,” Henriquez said. “We’ve been working on it for so long, and to finally see it, it’s so cool. It’s just such a good feeling.”
Henriquez said she grew up exposed to gun violence living in South L.A. — her parents relocated to Van Nuys “trying to escape that.” But she was shaken by the Borderline Bar shooting in Thousand Oaks last year — it was a popular hangout spot for among her friends at Cal Lutheran University.
“It was just so heartbreaking to see that happen, and to have it hit so close to home,” Henriquez said.
Youth gun council members have also registered voters on school campuses and advised elected officials on state gun safety measures.
The other two poster designs are below:
