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A new ad from gun violence prevention organization March for Our Lives left many on the internet teary-eyed because of its bracing depiction of the impact America's mass shooting epidemic has on schoolchildren.
The ad shows a corporate active-shooter training session being conducted in an office.
To the attendees'—and the viewer's—shock, the expert on active-shooter safety called in to lead the training turns out to be a school-age girl.
The young girl then delivers instructions on how to handle an active shooting with a matter-of-factness while images of children hiding from gunmen flash on the screen.
See the ad below.
\u201chttps://t.co/CiyU9E2VJg\u201d— Steve Schmidt (@Steve Schmidt) 1654607571
The ad, titled "Generation Lockdown," was created long before the Uvalde, Texas school shooting.
On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman with a legally purchased AR-15 murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. That tragedy has once again galvanized activists on both sides of the gun control issue, giving the ad a new urgency.
The glimpse it gives into what United States children are learning in school about gun violence is unsettling.
Kayleigh, the young girl giving instructions, discusses playing games to see who can "stay quietest the longest" because speaking out loud or crying during an active shooter situation can alert the gunman to victims' locations.
She also tells the adults to push tables and chairs in front of doors and cover windows with dark paper and if they are in the bathroom they must stand on the toilet seat and crouch down so that the gunman can't see their feet under the stall.
Kayleigh also sings a song—learned at school—to help her remember what to do during an active-shooter scenario.
It goes:
"Lockdown, lockdown, let’s all hide. Lock the doors and stay inside. Crouch on down. Don’t make a sound. And don’t cry or you’ll be found."
The ad was created by March for Our Lives to bring attention to a bill in the U.S. Senate that would expand background checks for gun purchases. The legislation was introduced by Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy in 2019.
On Twitter, many were undone by the disturbing reality the ad reveals.
\u201cThis might be the most chilling video I have ever watched on gun violence in America. It is only 2 mins long. Please watch this for the sake of our children.\n\nhttps://t.co/BoMrLprm3K\u201d— Paul Dalglish (@Paul Dalglish) 1654435930
\u201cThis is not easy to watch but it's important. This is the reality of guns.\n\nPlease watch. \nPlease share. \nPlease march. \nPlease vote.\n\nhttps://t.co/iUPl0YKg3k\n\n#MarchForOurLives\u201d— John Pavlovitz (@John Pavlovitz) 1654271038
\u201cStop running from the pain this causes to watch. Things that are just too appauling can cause you to turn and try to forget. It is the forgetting that allows it to repeat, unchallenged and unrestricted. Avoidance is not a solution. https://t.co/YxBR7JQId4 via @YouTube\u201d— Terry 4Uvaldi Pro-life-after-1st-Breath\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89\ud83c\udf0e\ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\udf0a (@Terry 4Uvaldi Pro-life-after-1st-Breath\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89\ud83c\udf0e\ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\udf0a) 1654362052
\u201cEvery parent in America needs to watch this \n\n\u201d— David Hogg \u262e\ufe0f (@David Hogg \u262e\ufe0f) 1654106432
\u201cGood God. \n\nhttps://t.co/rV5CeAxrQz\u201d— Celeste Headlee (@Celeste Headlee) 1654181563
\u201cHope this opens up some people's eyes and minds. Their expression when they are introduced to the expert on school shootings. #SchoolSafety #GenerationLockdown https://t.co/wYIewSpqcc\u201d— Blacklanderz\u00ae (@Blacklanderz\u00ae) 1654700020
\u201cI challenge you to watch this 2-minute video without getting angry, sad, or determined to make a difference.\n\nIf you manage to do so, you weren't paying attention. Or you're a Republican.\n\n#GunSafetyNow\u201d— F. Andy Seidl (@F. Andy Seidl) 1654729782
\u201cIf this doesn\u2019t get you in the gut\u2026\n\nhttps://t.co/82HZpVU2fm\u201d— KL (@KL) 1654809860
\u201cI can't believe what I just watched. This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.\nWhat are we doing in this country? \n\nhttps://t.co/5vP3KMqcKo\u201d— Kat Webheart \ud83d\udd78\ud83d\udc9a (@Kat Webheart \ud83d\udd78\ud83d\udc9a) 1654678826
\u201cThis is what the @GOP has done to our kids by refusing to take *any* action on gun control.\nNo child should know things like this. No child should be afraid they may not come home from school.\u201d— \ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Bijou\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b#Resister #VoteBlue (@\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Bijou\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b#Resister #VoteBlue) 1654608898
March for Our Lives was created by students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in the wake of the 2018 shooting there, which—until the Uvalde school shooting last month—was the second deadliest school shooting in United States history.