MyLastShot Project

Last updated
#MyLastShot
MyLastShot pledge taller.png
DateMarch 27, 2019 (2019-03-27)
Type Demonstration (protest)
Theme Gun violence awareness
Support of gun control
Cause Mass shootings in the United States
Organized byStudents, Columbine High School Jacobi Mehringer (Co-Creator) and others
Website www.mylastshot.org

#MyLastShot is a campaign created by students from Columbine High School [1] and activists on the topic of shootings. [2] The project involves students placing stickers on their driver's licenses or student ID's that states their wishes to have the graphic photos of their bodies publicized in the incredibly rare event that they die in a shooting. [3] The project launched on March 27, 2019, less than one month before the 20th anniversary of the Columbine Shooting which took place on April 20, 1999.

Contents

Participation

A student identification card with the #MyLastShot sticker applied to it. Rachel Hill.jpg
A student identification card with the #MyLastShot sticker applied to it.

In the event that I die from gun violence,
please publicize the photo of my death.
#MyLastShot. Signed, _____________

The project's website states that #MyLastShot is an 'open-source gun violence prevention resource' and that groups wanting to use their sticker or any of their campaign materials are welcome to do so without having to ask for specific permission.

Responses

While some applauded the students' efforts, there were also many who opposed the need to show graphic images. [4]

Responses From Elected Officials

On March 28, Senator Julie Gonzales (D), Colorado, referenced #MyLastShot in her speech [5] before voting 'yes' on the Colorado Extreme Risk Protection Orders bill that passed 18–17 in the state senate.

Colorado State Representative Tom Sullivan also threw in his support of #MyLastShot in light of his own son's tragic murder in the Aurora theatre shooting. He went on to state that people need to see the photos, and that he keeps the graphic images of his son's crime scene photos on his phone to show legislators in an effort to create change. [6]

#MyLastShot vs. Media Ethics

On March 28, 2019, Denver7 News reported on #MyLastShot pointing out how the Poynter Institute for Media Ethics typically is against the release of graphic imagery. On their website under 'Best Practices Offered For Media Coverage of Mass Shootings' they state "Be sensitive and cautious about using visual images, rather than showing graphic images of the crime scene." [7] However, about one week after launch, Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute wrote an article about the #MyLastShot Project giving journalists and photographers guidelines should they come upon the body of an individual with a #MyLastShot pledge. In the article, Al Tompkins writes, "...the use of such images is situational and should not be covered by a blanket “never publish” or “always publish” policy that allows journalists to escape tough calls." [8] This stance goes contrary to Poynter's previous guidelines to stay away from showing graphic images of the crime scene. In the same week, another large media ethics institution, Reynolds Journalism Institute gave journalist Jim MacMillan a one-year grant to create new guidelines for gun violence reporting in the United States. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbine High School massacre</span> 1999 mass shooting in Columbine, Colorado, US

The Columbine High School massacre, commonly referred to as Columbine, was a school shooting and attempted bombing that 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 twelve students and one teacher. Ten of the twelve students killed were in the school library, where Harris and Klebold subsequently committed suicide. Twenty-one additional people were injured by gunshots, and gunfire was also exchanged with the police. Another three people were injured trying to escape. The Columbine massacre was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in U.S. history, until it was surpassed by the Parkland high school shooting in February 2018. Columbine still remains the deadliest mass shooting to occur in the U.S. state of Colorado.

A school shooting is an act of armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple casualties. The phenomenon is most widespread in the United States, which has the highest number of school-related shootings, although school shootings have taken place elsewhere in the world.

Mass murder is the act of killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more persons kill several others.

<i>Bowling for Columbine</i> 2002 film by Michael Moore

Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The film explores what Moore suggests are the primary causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other acts of gun violence. He focuses on the background and environment in which the massacre took place and some common public opinions and assumptions about related issues. The film also looks into the nature of violence in the United States, and American violence abroad.

<i>Elephant</i> (2003 film) 2003 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant

Elephant is a 2003 American psychological drama film written, directed, and edited by Gus Van Sant. It takes place in Watt High School, in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, and chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting, based in part on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. The film begins a short time before the shooting occurs, following the lives of several characters both in and out of school, who are unaware of what is about to unfold. The film stars mostly new actors, including John Robinson, Alex Frost, and Eric Deulen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold</span> American mass murderers

Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold were an American mass murderer duo who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Harris and Klebold killed 13 people and wounded 24 others at Columbine High School, where they were seniors, in Columbine, Colorado. After killing most of their victims in the school's library, they later committed suicide. At the time, it was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. The ensuing media frenzy and moral panic following the massacre led to "Columbine" becoming a byword for school shootings, and becoming one of the most infamous mass shootings ever perpetrated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassie Bernall</span> Victim of the Columbine High School Massacre

Cassie René Bernall was an American student who was killed in the Columbine High School massacre, where 11 more students and a teacher were killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide. It was reported that Bernall had been asked whether or not she believed in God, and she said "Yes", before being shot during the massacre. However, investigators concluded the person who was asked about her belief in God was Valeen Schnurr, who survived the shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Scott</span> American murder victim

Rachel Joy Scott was an American student who was the first fatality of the Columbine High School massacre, in which 11 other students and a teacher were also murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then died by suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting</span>

On April 16, 2007, media from around the world descended on Blacksburg, Virginia, upon receiving word of the Virginia Tech shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Is Dead Tour</span> 1999 concert tour by Marilyn Manson

Rock Is Dead was a worldwide arena tour by American rock band Marilyn Manson in 1999. It was the second tour launched in support of their third full-length studio LP, Mechanical Animals, which was released on September 15, 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guns, God and Government Tour</span> 2000–01 concert tour by Marilyn Manson

Guns, God and Government was a worldwide arena tour by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was the eighth tour the band embarked upon and the fourth to span over multiple legs. It was launched 17 days ahead in support of their fourth full-length studio album, Holy Wood , which was released on November 14, 2000, in the US and Australia. Beginning on October 27, 2000, and lasting until September 2, 2001, the tour included six legs spanning Eurasia, Japan and North America with a total of 107 completed shows out of 109 planned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass shooting</span> Incident involving multiple victims of firearm violence

A mass shooting is a violent crime in which an attacker kills or injures multiple individuals simultaneously using a firearm. There is no widely-accepted definition of "mass shooting" and different organizations tracking such incidents use different definitions. Definitions of mass shootings exclude warfare and sometimes exclude instances of gang violence, armed robberies, and familicides. The perpetrator of an ongoing mass shooting may be referred to as an active shooter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Manson–Columbine High School massacre controversy</span> 1990s controversy in the US

Following the massacre at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, one common view was that the violent actions perpetrated by the two shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were due to violent influences in entertainment, specifically those in the music of Marilyn Manson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-union violence in the United States</span>

Anti-union violence in the United States is physical force intended to harm union officials, union organizers, union members, union sympathizers, or their families. It has most commonly been used either during union organizing efforts, or during strikes. The aim most often is to prevent a union from forming, to destroy an existing union, or to reduce the effectiveness of a union or a particular strike action. If strikers prevent people or goods to enter or leave a workplace, violence may be used to allow people and goods to pass the picket line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X González</span> American activist and gun control advocate

X González is an American activist and advocate for gun control. In 2018, they survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, and, in response, co-founded the gun-control advocacy group Never Again MSD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass shooting contagion</span> Theory about the occurrence of mass shootings in relation to media coverage

Mass shooting contagion theory is the studied nature and effect of media coverage of mass shootings and the potential increase of mimicked events. Academic study of this theory has grown in recent years due to the nature of mass shooting events, frequency of references to previous rampage shooters as inspiration and the acquisition of fame using violence, particularly in the United States. The Columbine High School massacre is cited as being the first shooting to receive nationwide 24/7 publicity, giving both shooters near instant widespread infamy, and thus often is claimed by researchers as being a source of inspiration for would be copycat mass shooters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Eubanks</span> American addiction recovery advocate and Columbine High School massacre survivor

Stephen Austin Eubanks was an American motivational speaker on addiction and recovery. He was a survivor of the Columbine High School massacre, in which his best friend, 17-year-old Corey DePooter, was killed and Eubanks was shot in his hand and knee. Eubanks struggled with opioid addiction after the shooting. Eubanks was the chief operations officer for the Foundry Treatment Center. He died of a heroin overdose in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The National School Walkout</span> 2018 student-led gun violence protest

The National School Walkout was a national student-led protest on April 20, 2018, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre. The walkout was one of many protests against gun violence in the United States that erupted in response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting on February 14, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbine effect</span> Legacy of the 1999 Columbine massacre

The Columbine effect is the legacy and impact of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. The shooting has had an effect on school safety, policing tactics, prevention methods, and inspired numerous copycat crimes, with many killers taking their inspiration from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold by describing the two perpetrators as being martyrs or heroes.

References

  1. NowThis (2019-04-15). "These Columbine students pledged to let images of their bodies be made public if they die by gun violence — and they're encouraging others to join them with #MyLastShotpic.twitter.com/Ykz6lp1OHy". @nowthisnews. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  2. "FAQ". #MyLastShot. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  3. "#MyLastShot". #MyLastShot. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  4. "These teen activists want you to run their pictures if they die by gun violence. Read these guidelines first". Poynter. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  5. #MyLastShot Team (2019-03-29), Sen. Julie Gonzalez (D) talks about #MyLastShot ahead of HB19-1177 bill vote , retrieved 2019-04-03
  6. #MyLastShot Team (2019-03-29), Representative Tom Sullivan Supports #MyLastShot , retrieved 2019-04-03
  7. "Best Practices Offered For Media Coverage of Mass Shootings' - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  8. "These teen activists want you to run their pictures if they die by gun violence. Read these guidelines first". Poynter. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  9. "This journalist will spend a year creating guidelines for America's gun violence reporting". Billy Penn. Retrieved 2019-04-03.