I recently worked on three posters in my free time and I wanted to share them. These issues around ending gun violence, criminal justice, and LGBTQ+ rights are some that are very important to me.
End Gun Violence
The graphic uses headlines from primary news sources. My goal when creating this graphic was to highlight how gun violence touches everyone. Yet, in so many cases these fatalities are preventable with stricter gun laws and removing deadly weapons like AR-15s from everyday civilians. According to The New York Times, “From 1966 to 2019, 77 percent of mass shooters obtained the weapons they used in their crimes through legal purchases, according to a comprehensive survey of law enforcement data, academic papers and new accounts compiled by the National Institute of Justice, the research wing of the Justice Department” (The New York Times, 2022). Firearms are also the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in America.
More sources:
The Trace: Gun Violence Map
Everytown for Gun Safety: Research & Policy
Moms Demand Action: Get Involved
The Sandy Hook Promise: Action Fund
Protect LGBTQ+ Rights
LGBTQ+ rights are currently under attack in America. As of May 2023, over 415 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been proposed in state legislatures. Graphs by CNN illustrate where these bills are being introduced, by year, and the specific categories that are under attack. Gender-affirming care, which helps people “feel happy, healthy, and safe in their gender,” has been outlawed and targeted in at least 14 states, including Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, and Mississippi, among others. According to ABC News, at least 18 other states have considered or introduced similar bills that target care for transgender youth. This care is essential in ensuring the well-being of people, and “research shows that gender-affirming care, when accessible and desired, may reduce distress and can make it easier to live in a sometimes hostile world. People are more likely to enjoy intimacy with others when they are happier and feel comfortable in their skin” (Harvard Medical School, 2021). Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, or House Bill 1557, would limit discussion of gender and sexuality in schools: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” The language itself is not very clear in determining what is age appropriate. The bill eliminates LGBTQ+ books, discussions on LGBTQ+ rights, and targets mental health and counseling services. Limiting conversations on LGBTQ+ identities, criminalizing drag, and prohibiting gender-affirming care until individuals are adults is not only homophobic and transphobic but discourages (and criminalizes) people to be who they are.
More sources:
Human Rights Campaign: Get Involved
The American Civil Liberties Union: Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures
Pew Research Center: Gender & LGBTQ+
The Trevor Project: Support and Services
End Qualified Immunity
In 2020, a SWAT team destroyed a woman’s home as they believed her ex-boyfriend, who had a warrant for his arrest, resided in the house. He was not in the home, but the police, despite being given permission to enter from the West, destroyed her home. They broke windows, used so much tear gas that it ruined her possessions, and made the home uninhabitable for over two months. Her walls were damaged from the violent throwing around of objects. West was given just $900 for the expenses and a hotel room for three weeks. But when she sued, the case immediately fell through because of qualified immunity, which is a judicial doctrine that protects public officials from legal accountability and liability when they disregard the law and/or code of conduct (Vox, 2020). Under the policy, government officials are immune to federal lawsuits. Though it does not guarantee protection in all cases, it provides enough protection that cases like West’s will not be looked at in any way. It has protected police from being held liable for their unlawful behaviors, even when evidence goes against them. As of April 16, 2023, police have shot and killed 1,602 people in the past 12 months, and 8,381 fatal shootings since 2015 (The Washington Post, 2023). In 2023, police have already shot and killed 293 people. When considering other forms of lethal force, police have likely killed hundreds more. And, even though Black Americans account for about 14% of the population, they are killed at twice the rate of White Americans (The Washington Post, 2023). As recent news has demonstrated, there have been too many cases in which police unlawfully use lethal force against unarmed civilians. Clearly, body cameras are not a solution to holding police accountable, but ending qualified immunity would be a step that removes that safety net for police and will lead to holding law enforcement accountable. As stated by the Cato Institute, “While established civil rights laws direct that any government official who violates someone’s constitutional rights ‘shall be liable’ to the person they injured, the Supreme Court’s muddling of the law with qualified immunity has allowed police officers to avoid responsibility. Law enforcement officials are now routinely excused from bad behavior—even actions that cause harm or death to innocent victims, and even when they knowingly violate a person’s rights” (Cato Institute, 2023), demonstrating how qualified immunity sets up an unjust system of power in which the victim of police violence has no chance of receiving justice.
Though this touches loosely on criminal justice (and there’s a lot more to discuss), ending qualified immunity is the first step in holding law enforcement accountable. No one should be above the law.
More sources:
The American Civil Liberties Union: Ending Qualified Immunity Once and For All is the Next Step in Holding Police Accountable
The Vera Institute of Justice: Invest in communities. End mass incarceration. Fight for human dignity. Advocate for immigrants.
Project NIA: Community over confinement
Innocence Project: The Issues