The photo above shares a powerful, relevant message that argues against gun rights. It incorporates several different messages that advocate for gun control. With not including any words on the picture, the ad does a great job at expressing its argument.

The first thing that drew me to this picture was really just seeing a baby in close contact with a gun. You never think that someone so innocent, like a baby, should be interacting with something so dangerous, like a gun. However, the contrast between the baby’s innocence and the gun’s danger is one of the powerful messages in this ad. By having the baby and gun so close together, the ad argues that in today’s world, people are losing their innocence more quickly than ever. Though a baby is probably not capable of actually using this gun, we see teenagers using guns in harmful ways way too often. For instance, Nickolas Cruz and Dimitrios Pagourtzis, both teenagers, were perpetrators of two separate school shootings in 2018. And though teenagers can be a pain sometimes, we never associate them with gun violence, or at least we shouldn’t have to; instead, we like to think that these young adults don’t have the power or will to commit such an act. This one part of the picture clearly effectively shows how guns have been taking away people’s innocence in today’s world.

Another important aspect of this visual argument is the baby’s hand and eyes being so close to the gun. The baby’s ability to be just inches away from a gun represents how easily accessible guns are. Again, the probability of a baby owning a gun is extremely unlikely, but it shows that guns are not that hard to obtain, and this needs to change.

Lastly, the visual does a great job at illustrating how what goes on in today’s world truly does affect young kids. In front of the baby is a gun and toy blocks, yet the baby is more focused on the gun rather than his toys. Though there could be several different reasons why he is drawn more towards the gun, I think one assumption can be because of how often we hear about gun violence. Because of this, we have become so familiar with guns that we don’t always view them as a weapon anymore, and we forget how dangerous they truly are. So, maybe this baby thinks of the gun as another toy like his blocks, and he unfortunately cannot distinguish the two.

As much as I agree and support this visual argument, I do the ad could be more effective is a young kid was shown rather than a baby. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ad was seen as a joke by many, because there is little to no relationship between a gun and a baby. But, a young kid, maybe between 7-10, is able to have an understanding of what guns are and can know their effects. In order to express this ad’s messages in a more effective way, I think a young kid would have been a better fit for this ad.

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