The Washington Post (WaPo) is asking readers to submit their “gun violence” stories for the first anniversary of the heinous crime at Sandy Hook Elementary.
In a story titled, “What’s your gun number? Share your gun story,” the WaPo provides a form readers can fill out and submit online.
The form asks questions like, “How many people do you know who have been killed or injured by gun violence?” and “If you were in charge, how would you change gun policy in the U.S.?”
Additionally, the form asks people with gun violence stories to take pictures of themselves holding their “gun numbers” and submit them via social media. The photos will be compiled and made available for readers to show how many “gun violence” incidents have taken place.
The Washington Post Magazine did this same thing in March with a story titled, “What’s Your Gun Number?” The central question in this article was, “How many people do you know who have been shot?”
The “gun number” project’s inventor, an Asheville, NC, political science professor, originally asked the question on Facebook with the words “No politics… No judgment. Just a number.”
The Washington Post printed its own coverage in connection with articles on the surrounding politics of gun control. Its March story came out just before the Senate bill concerning universal background checks was debated and defeated.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.