Sandy Hook Promise, the group founded after 20 first graders and six adults were murdered in Newtown, Connecticut, released a video on Wednesday that begins like any typical back-to-school commercial – with middle schoolers talking about their new backpacks, binders, and headphones.

But halfway through it takes a dark turn as the sound of gunfire and screams become prominent, and students use their back-to-school items to save themselves and their classmates from a school shooting.

A young girl uses knee-high socks to stop the blood that’s coming from an injured classmate’s leg, a boy uses his new skateboard to break a window so he and and his peers can climb out, and another student squatting in a toilet stall, sends a text on her new phone that says, “I love you mom.”

“This PSA is a gut punch, it’s uncomfortable, it’s hard to watch, but you can’t sanitize a school shooting,” said Mark Barden, the co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise (SHP). “My hope is that folks will see this and be inspired to take action.”

Is Congress finally ready to pass gun control legislation? Read more

Barden’s seven-year-old son, Daniel, was one of the casualties of the Sandy Hook school shooting in December of 2012. Barden says that the prevention work done through SHP’s trainings and advocacy is a way “honor Daniel’s life in a meaningful way”.

The video is a part of the group’s “Know the Signs” campaign, which is aimed at preventing school shootings and suicides by identifying students who are at risk of hurting themselves or someone else. Through the program, SHP staff educate schools and local communities on the warning signs before a suicide or act of violence occurs.

It also comes amid political pressure on the US Senate to vote on a bill which would require background checks for all gun sales, and another bill which would strengthen background check procedures on gun retailers. Both of these passed in the House over six months ago, and House speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on Senator Mitch McConnell to “give us a vote”.

In a 15 September joint press release, Pelosi and the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said that during a phone call with Donald Trump they “made it clear ... that any proposal he endorses that does not include the House-passed universal background checks legislation will not get the job done.”

Trump is expected to announce his stance on the bills but it’s not clear when a statement will be released.

Gun control has been one of the central topics among Democratic presidential candidates. All of the candidates support some sort of common sense gun regulations including background checks and assault weapons ban. And during the most recent debate, candidate Beto O’Rourke, who represents Texas, emphatically supported the mandatory buyback of assault weapons, saying: “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15.”

According to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security there have been 387 school shooting incidents since 2012, the year of Sandy Hook, and nearly 20 in the past year alone. In 2018, the year of the Parkland shooting, there were 97 incidents, making it the worst year on record, according to the CHDS, which defines incidents as any time “a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week”.

And while Barden insists that the video is not a direct call for political action, but hopes that it will inspire voters to hold their elected officials accountable for passing regulations that can prevent gun deaths.

“Bringing more awareness hopefully also drives public awareness to the point where [people] use their vote and their advocacy to make sure that our elected officials are on the right side of this issue as well.”

