'Agree to Agree' campaign downplays divisiveness, promotes conversations to end gun violence
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A first-of-its-kind campaign tackling America's most urgent public health crisis just launched.
The goal is to protect children and teens from gun violence without getting political.
The campaign by the Ad Council is all about conversations. It loops in parents and medical professionals, like trauma surgeons, who share what it's like to treat children who wind up on their operating tables with gunshot wounds.
They downplay the divisiveness by focusing on something they believe everyone can agree with: gun violence should not be the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in the U.S. The three main causes are homicides, suicides, and accidents.
The Ad Council says their research shows a majority of Americans, 80%, believe productive conversations can reduce gun violence and death.
"The good news is our research shows on this topic, we agree with more than we think, especially when we root it in children's safety," Ro Patrick, the Ad Council's senior vice president, said.
SEE ALSO: Feds warns Houstonians about rising gun trend in Texas, calling it 'a plague to our community'
A trauma surgeon, Dr. Shay O'Mara with OhioHealth Clinical Enterprise, also joined Eyewitness News live and said conversations to protect kids from gun violence don't have to be political.
They're better than the ones he said he's forced to have far too often at the hospital.
"There's a moment where I am in the ER or OR, and a child is dead because they've been shot. I know that, and a family doesn't. There's a gap where that child is still alive to them, and I know differently. I want that gap to never end. People should have their children at home, not dead in my OR," O'Mara said.
The campaign is called "Agree to Agree." The website features conversation guides that are available to help people keep kids safe.
For updates on this story, follow Briana Conner on Facebook, X and Instagram.
