SAN FRANCISCO—Sleeper 13, a San Francisco based production company that films in Washington State and California, has come under scrutiny for the recent release of a PSA entitled, “Stop Gun Violence.”
Released on December 13, the PSA depicts a teenage boy who sneaks into his parents room and steals a concealed gun from a dresser. Visibly distressed, he packs the gun into his backpack and brings the gun with him to school, a move that could indicate he intends to turn the weapon upon his peers.
The scene shifts to a busy school hallway, picturing a number of children happily walking to class, the boy from the previous scene among them. After attending class, the boy waits for everyone to leave before approaching his teacher and revealing the gun.
The teacher gaps in terror before the boy places the gun on the desk and says, “Can you take this away? I don’t feel safe with a gun in my house.”
The film concludes with the words, “Our children deserve a safe world. Stop gun violence now.”
The PSA has created waves through social media, with the following responses:
@TheVGBlog: “Is This The Worst Gun Control Ad In U.S. History?”
@katmac5: “Sleeper 13 Productions puts out PSA showing kids stealing parents guns 2 turn in2 school. If something bad happens, accept blame? #2A #tcot.”
Video director Rejina Sencic has also taken to Twitter to defend and promote her production, tweeting the same message to a vast number of media outlets:
@QueenSincic: @ConanOBrien “Please RT my PSA about reducing GUN VIOLENCE in schools and communities! #gunviolence.”
The PSA currently has over 35,000 views on YouTube. After an overwhelming number of downvotes, the option to give the film a thumbs-up or thumbs-down was disabled.
