AVERY, Calif., Oct. 8 (UPI) — Writer and former journalist Steve Elliott posted a picture of his dismantled handgun to take a stand against “unconscionable” arguments against reducing gun violence.
Elliott posted the picture to Facebook on Monday. In the accompanying post, which was shared more than 4,000 times as of Thursday afternoon, he describes himself as a “responsible gun owner” who saved up funds for his first gun, a Browning 12-gauge shotgun, from his paper route as a young boy. Since then, guns have been a part of his life, a part that personal experiences and mass shootings made increasingly “harder and harder to justify.”
In his post, Elliott identifies relatives and friends who were victims of gun violence, such as his grandmother who committed suicide and the husband of one of his sister’s co-workers who was killed in a mass shooting.
Elliott explains that owning a gun makes him feel as though he bears “a portion of the responsibility for our nation’s gun violence.”
“My gun is being used to argue against common-sense laws and policies that could reduce gun violence in America,” Elliott says, “arguments I find unconscionable.”
The uneasiness of this realization, Elliott adds, convinced him to disassemble his 9 mm Ruger handgun, clamp the pieces in a vice and cut them in half with an angle grinder.
“I didn’t really ever put it all together in one paragraph,” Elliott told UPI in a phone interview. “I never knew there was this much gun violence; never really thought about it.”
He is also submitting paperwork on the gun’s destruction to local authorities.
Elliott said he is doing what he can to stop gun violence in the United States as a responsible gun owner. “People say there’s nothing that can be done.”
Facebook users commenting on Elliott’s post lauded his act. Sanders LaMont said, “a great example for us all … I will share this in the hopes someone will need to hear what you have to say,” while Mike Cabanatuan said “That’s the most powerful thing you could have done with that gun. Thanks Steve.”
“Mostly the comments have been quite positive,” Elliott said. “There have been people that think I’m an idiot … one guy thought I was cursed.”
Elliott ends the post with the hashtag #ONELESSGUN. Elliott said he wants the hashtag to trend on the Internet and spark a dialogue about reducing gun violence.
“I think there is a conversation to be had and responsible gun owners want to be a part of it,” Elliott said.
