Stop Handgun Violence is a Boston,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

-based 501(c)(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that works to reduce and prevent injuries and deaths caused by

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s in the United States. The group advocates personal responsibility, public awareness, stronger legislation, increased gun manufacturer responsibility, and strict law enforcement. Stop Handgun Violence was founded in 1995 by Boston developer John Rosenthal with Michael Kennedy, son of assassinated former U.S. attorney general and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Rosenthal says that he was inspired to cofound the group when "I learned that 15 kids under 19 died every day in this country from the only consumer product in America that is not regulated." Rosenthal, President of the real estate development firm Meredith Management, has a history of social activism. He led protests against nuclear proliferation in the 1970s, launched the non-profit Friends of Boston's Homeless in the 1980s, founded Stop Handgun Violence in 1995, cofounded Common Sense About Kids and Guns in 1999, and cofounded the American Hunters and Shooters Association in 2005. Stop Handgun Violence has shown a particular concern with the ease with which firearms can be purchased at

gun show In the United States, a gun show is an event where promoters generally rent large public venues and then rent tables for display areas for dealers of guns and related items, and charge admission for buyers. The majority of guns for sale at gun s ...

s. It is also concerned about how easily children, the mentally ill, felons, and potential terrorists can gain access to firearms.

Public awareness

Stop Handgun Violence has implemented several media and public awareness campaigns, the centerpiece of which is America's largest billboard, located on the Massachusetts Turnpike adjacent to Fenway Park in Boston. In 2008, the 252-foot billboard, which Rosenthal owns, displayed the message "We Sell Guns! Criminals and Terrorists Welcome, No ID or Background Check Required," an ironic reference to the ease of buying firearms at gun shows. Previous displays, many designed by the Modernista! ad agency in Boston, have held messages such as "You Shoot. Your Family Pays" and a fake ransom demand, "We Have Your President and Congress – NRA." The billboard is required to be removed by the current owner of the property no later than March 2015. Other billboards have displayed photos of children who have been killed by gunfire.

Criticism

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

law professor

Randy Barnett Randy Evan Barnett (born February 5, 1952) is an American legal scholar. He serves as the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University, where he teaches constitutional law and contracts, and is the director of the Georg ...

said, in regard to Stop Handgun Violence's response to the

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

, that "It's impossible to push a button and make firearms disappear in this country. Furthermore, so far as we are aware, this crime was committed mainly with long-guns—not handguns—and home-made explosives ipe-bombsthat no gun law can eliminate. ... We could eliminate all automobile accidents by getting rid of all automobiles.""Boston Media Deceived by 'Stop Handgun Violence' Lobby," by Eric Darbe, in Massachusetts News, http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/other/4_Apr/shv.htm.

References

{{USgunorgs Non-profit organizations based in Boston Gun control advocacy groups in the United States

Public awareness

Criticism

See also

References