The installation and web archive, Do You Know Where Your Guns Are? (2013-14), focuses on just one aspect of our society’s concern with gun violence. Most guns used in crimes were once purchased legally, and then through theft, straw purchasing, or trafficking, made their way into the hands of criminals. On January 25, 2013, ABC World News reported that guns are top targets for home burglars, with an estimated 230,000 guns per year stolen in home burglaries and property crimes. The posters on display here were generated from recent news reports on stolen guns. My research gathered from daily internet searches for stolen gun reports throws light on a ‘not insignificant’ number of firearm thefts committed by people related to or acquainted with the victims; as well as a ‘not insignificant’ number that were thefts of convenience, where gun owners were careless with their property.

For links to specific stories and efforts for reporting stolen firearms legislation, visit do you know where your guns are?

Contain It! 2013. Dunedin Fine Arts Center, Dunedin, FL March 8-9, 2013. Group exhibition.