Provocative New ‘Pin It On Them’ Campaign from Change the Ref Highlights Grisly Reality of Lawmakers’ Legislative Inaction on Gun Safety
Dubbed “Pin It On Them,” and inspired by heartless AR-15 lapel pins, Change the Ref’s retaliatory pin collection shows graphic depictions of school shooting victims and places blame on legislators
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On a mission to shift America’s social response to gun violence by uniting creativity, activism, disruption, and education, Change the Ref launched a provocative new campaign known as “Pin It On Them,” a retaliatory pin collection that shows the gruesome reality of lawmakers’ continued inaction around gun safety. Inspired by legislators like Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) who have proudly donned AR-15 lapel pins on the House floor, Change the Ref’s collection sheds light on the grisly “other side” of the semiautomatic rifle, including a student lying in a pool of his own blood, a bloodied and bullet-ridden locker, and a student with a bow in her hair and a target on her chest.
The pin collection – cheekily dubbed the Second Amendment Defender Collection™– is available for limited-time purchase on the Change the Ref website. Buyers can select to purchase a personal pin collection or can opt to send the collection to a lawmaker to remind him or her of what – and who – is at stake this election season.
The campaign’s media centerpiece is a video featuring Change the Ref student advocates surprising lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have voted against responsible gun safety with the graphic pin collection. Featured lawmakers include Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who noted on record the day of the Covenant School shooting in his home state, that Congress is “not gonna fix” school shootings and that he homeschools his daughter to keep her safe; Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN); Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA); Blake Moore (R-UT); Troy Nehls (R-TX); and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH).
Also featured in the video is Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who represents the Apalachee High School district where four people were killed in a school shooting just two weeks ago. In the video, Collins proudly suggests arming teachers to keep schools safe. Like the students in the video say, “You can’t make this sh*t up.”
“While we believe lawmakers should be free to take action and express their beliefs, we also believe in telling the complete story, including the dark reality of where those beliefs and corresponding actions may lead,” said Change the Ref Co-Founder Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland High School massacre on Feb. 14, 2018. “We know a majority of Americans want responsible gun safety legislation, but those with the power to pass laws have failed to act, so we must pin the blame where it belongs – on the legislators who refuse to stop mass shootings.”
The campaign comes on the heels of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s landmark Advisory on Firearm Violence declaring gun violence in America a public health crisis. Earlier this summer, students from Change the Ref were on hand at Rep. Maxwell Frost’s (D-FL) press conference applauding the advisory where they presented him with a Second Amendment Defender Collection™ box of his own.
“As kids head back to school this fall, we need to remember the real and devastating threat that gun violence poses to our students, teachers, and families. Communities like Parkland and Orlando are tired of our leaders only offering thoughts and prayers for the lives lost because of a gun,” said Rep. Frost. “Legislators in Washington D.C., who proudly wear their AR-15 pins can’t ignore the kids murdered and families destroyed as a result of that weapon. That’s the cost of refusing to take action on gun safety legislation.”
A complete library of Pin It On Them assets, including videos, stills and more can be found here. The full Washington, D.C., video can be found on Change the Ref social channels linked here: Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube.
For more information on Change the Ref and its initiatives, visit www.changetheref.org.
About Change the Ref
Change the Ref (CTR) was formed to amplify and support youth efforts and movement building. They use urban art and nonviolent creative confrontation to advocate for the eradication of the gun violence epidemic and to expose elected officials who are bought and paid for by the NRA and gun manufacturers. #NeverAgain
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SOURCE Change the Ref
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