An attempt at educating the public on firearms has put the National Shooting Sports Association in an unusual position — in the running for a Telly.
The non-profit has one of 33 videos presently in contention for the people’s choice award in the Online Video category. And it is up against an eclectic collection of entries, including music videos, public service announcements, advertisements and short documentaries.
The NSSF’s video, straightforwardly titled Gun Crimes Plummet Even as Gun Sales Rise, was launched a little less than a year ago as bid to undo many misconceptions regarding firearms that have flourished recent times. In particular, it tackles the fallacy that more guns lead to more crime.
That canard has lingered for years in the media, politics and public at large, but as the video demonstrates is not grounded in fact. Drawing from a number of Federal and institutional studies, the video shows how the exact opposite has been the case over the past few decades.
Since the 1990s, gun ownership has grown quite steadily. At the same time, gun crime has plunged. The video's focus is mainly on this point, but also touches on other firearm trends. One of the more dramatic is the enormous drop in unintentional firearm fatalities the nation has seen in the past 80 years.
For many outside the firearms world, these statistics likely came as a shock, given they are not the popular narrative in some corners of the country. But like the video says at the end, “[P]erception is not always reality.”
Voting for the 36th Telly award is open until April 10. If you are interested in voting in the Telly Awards please go here.
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