Top Spot of the Week: Gun Safety PSA Takes Form Of A Poignant Unboxing Video Directed By Kevin Wilson Jr. For Grey NY

States United to Prevent Gun Violence has tapped in the cultural phenomenon of the unboxing video to help a gun safety message gain traction. This public service film, a pro bono effort from Grey New York, centers on a fictional would-be social influencer, an eight-year-old named Cayden, who digs a box out from his parents’ bedroom closet and opens it for his online audience to reveal a firearm. At that point we see the profound potential for tragedy, all because families aren’t taking the necessary precautions when it comes to properly storing a deadly weapon.

Every day in the U.S., eight kids are shot by a misused or unlocked gun. Gun sales were at a 20-year high this past summer, and with coronavirus lockdowns keeping more kids at home, the number of deadly unintentional shootings by children is rising. Nationwide, there are currently 4.6 million children who live in homes with an unlocked gun. States United To Prevent Gun Violence PSA is urging urges parents across America that if a gun is unlocked, it can be unboxed and this preventable mistake could lead to a parent’s worst nightmare: their child handling a loaded gun, like Cayden in his unboxing video.

Kevin Wilson Jr. directed the PSA which was produced by Chelsea Pictures in association with Big Fun Films.

“As a parent and storyteller, I’m in a very unique position to approach my stories from the point of view of a guardian who cares deeply about protecting the innocence of children. No child should have to lose their life or deal with the guilt of having accidentally taken a life because of the unsafe storing practices of adults,” said Wilson Jr., an Oscar-nominated and Student Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Wilson received a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where he studied under Spike Lee.

States United provides gun safety storage and education tips on its website.