The billboard reads: "If I had attended high school in Massachusetts instead of Parkland Florida, I would likely be alive today. Gun laws save lives." Watch video
A giant billboard featuring 17-year-old Joaquin "Guac" Oliver stares down at passersby from a busy Boston intersection near the Hynes Convention Center.
The billboard reads: "If I had attended high school in Massachusetts instead of Parkland Florida, I would likely be alive today. Gun laws save lives."
Oliver was killed Feb. 14, 2018, in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which killed 17 students and staff. The 90-by-20-foot billboard was commissioned by Oliver's family's organization, Change the Ref, and the Massachusetts-based gun control group Stop Handgun Violence.
John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence, said the billboard is part of a campaign to urge other states and the federal government to adopt the type of strict gun laws that exist in Massachusetts.
"We have proven the NRA's worst nightmare, that gun laws save lives without banning anything except for military style assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, like were made in Massachusetts at Smith and Wesson and used at Parkland, San Bernadino, Aurora, Colorado, and the list goes on and on," Rosenthal said, referring to mass shootings in each location.
Oliver's parents, Manuel and Patricia Oliver, started Change the Ref in memory of Joaquin. Their goal is to use urban art to raise awareness about gun violence and reduce the influence of the National Rifle Association.
The Olivers attended an unveiling of the billboard Thursday in Boston. Manuel Oliver wore a T-shirt that read, "Just f**king vote."
The family fled violence in Venezuela to find safety in Florida, only to have their son killed at school. Manuel Oliver described Joaquin as a kid who loved baseball, and who once told his father that he wanted to be remembered as "a great person."
Oliver said he wants to send a message before the midterm elections that gun violence is a problem that needs to be solved. "Anyone supported by the gun lobby or NRA is not qualified to solve the problem," Oliver said. "He or she is part of the problem."
The billboard unveiling was attended by top Massachusetts officials, including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Attorney General Maura Healey and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders.
Speakers pointed to statistics showing that Massachusetts has the lowest gun death rate in the nation - 3.4 firearm deaths per 100,000 people. They attributed that to the state's gun control laws, which are among the strictest in the country.
Massachusetts bans assault weapons and high capacity magazines, requires background checks for private sales, gives police discretion to deny a firearms license and requires safe storage, among other regulations.
"Massachusetts' success in gun reform proves that sound policies can quiet the gunfire that shatters families and haunts our neighborhoods," Markey said.
But Markey noted that two-thirds of gun crimes in Massachusetts involve guns bought out-of-state.
Markey has introduced legislation that would provide financial incentives to other states that adopt Massachusetts' gun licensing standards.
Several speakers blamed the influence of the national gun lobby for blocking reforms in other states and nationally. They urged voters to keep gun control in mind when they vote.
"This nation has failed so many families and will continue to fail families unless we take sensible, needed action now," Healey said.
Kennedy said, "It might not be tomorrow, it might not be next Tuesday, but the day will come when we will win. No child, no family, should have to worry they will go to school and not come home at night."
The Massachusetts Legislature passed a major gun bill in 2014, with provisions focused on school safety, mental health, background checks and enhanced criminal penalties for gun crimes. More recently, state lawmakers banned bump stocks, which let guns shoot faster, and put in place a process by which a judge can temporarily take away guns from anyone who poses a threat to themselves or others.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, said lawmakers are now looking into issues related to better tracing weapons, establishing best practices for school safety and seeing whether there are other gun law loopholes that should be closed.
In an interview, DeLeo said he could not offer specifics of any changes he is considering, but he knows lawmakers will be looking at gun laws. "I can't give you a direct answer in terms of what the changes may be, if any, but I will tell you this," DeLeo said. "Each and every year as we're beginning our legislative session, we do take a look at our gun laws, to see what has worked in the past and what might be able to work better if we were to address it."
Gov. Charlie Baker did not attend the event, sending Sudders in his place. The Olivers planned to meet with Baker privately.
Sudders said the governor is "pleased" to get a "D" ranking from the National Rifle Association, and he has never taken money from the gun lobby. "It is sad that the rest of the country doesn't take Massachusetts up on its offer to have the strongest gun laws for everyone," Sudders said.