On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the Lower East Side had a gun store at 149 Orchard Street. The front window of GWH Gun Shop beckoned: “First-time gun buyer? We are here to help you.” Inside the small storefront a friendly salesperson asked about prospective buyers’ gun needs and showed off a few models.
How about a .22 revolver? “It’s our best seller because it’s really easy to use,” states GWH Gun Shop’s website. The description continues: “In fact, even a 5 year-old can do it. Case in point, on January 19, 2015, a 5 year-old boy found his parent’s [sic] .22 in their bedroom and shot his 9-month-old baby brother.”
All of the guns had similar descriptions on their tags. A .223 caliber rifle, like the one used at Sandy Hook, is on display, as is a semi-automatic assault rifle, like the one from the Aurora, Colorado cinema shootings, and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, like the one a two-year-old accidentally killed his mom with.
The inside of the GWH shop. (Photo: States United to Prevent Gun Violence.)
As was quickly apparent, GWH–Guns With History–was not a gun store at all. It was a brief social experiment put on by States United to Prevent Gun Violence, a national nonprofit that supports new and existing gun violence prevention organizations. The project was inspired by a 2014 statistic: the number of Americans who believe having a gun at home will make them safer has nearly doubled since 2000, now up to 63 percent. States United aims to “debunk this perception,” per their press release.
To do so, both the store and the website were crafted to look authentic. (It looks like a more spic-and-span version of the John Jovino Gun Shop in Little Italy.) The website’s homepage is built around copy that would seem reasonable for any real gun store: “Hunting season is coming. Make your decision today” and “We care about your family’s safety.” It even includes one of those annoying chat popups that reads, “First time gun buyer? Let us help you make the right choice.” Only when you click links or look closely at the tag on a gun does the educational mission become apparent.
A typical tag on a GWH gun. (Photo: States United to Prevent Gun Violence.)
Although the “gun shop” had a short life, its purpose was greater. It was rigged with hidden cameras to capture potential customers’ reactions, which were then compiled into a PSA, released today. The video’s goal is “to educate those looking to purchase a firearm and ensure they are aware of the potential risks,” said Julia Wyman, executive director of States United, in a press release. Leah Gunn Barrett, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, told Bedford + Bowery that the video has had “a pretty healthy response.”
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is a member of States United, and worked to bring this idea to life. “All the public health studies and data out there show that having a gun in the home increases your risk of homicide, suicide, and unintentional shooting,” said Barrett. She would know. In 1997 her brother was murdered in his own business; he owned a gun and it didn’t protect him.
Although the GWH Gun Shop is gone, its website–where you can learn about the risks and realities of gun ownership–lives on. Barrett knows it will take a lot to fight the powerful gun lobby, but she also knows where to start: with education. “It’s time to let [the public] know what the facts are,” she said.
