The Gun Owners of the Parkland Generation

I think that for those

who have no relationship to guns, like I had,

they would discover that, like anything,

it's just about getting used to it.

And the question is

what are we comfortable with getting used to?

(soft music)

So the subject of guns is obviously

a provocative, sensitive topic.

The side that pro-gun control

often only talk to each other

and have likely never met a gun owner.

And that's certainly who I was

before I set about this project.

Growing up in the U.K.,

guns just weren't part of conversation.

(soft music)

I can't think of another advanced country in the world

where you would find so many young people

with access to guns.

It's an obsession.

It's part of the fabric of American life.

(soft music)

These pictures are a reflection of that.

We spent 18 months.

We traveled all over the country

from an hour outside of New York

to Texas, Montana, Ohio, Missouri, Florida.

We tracked down kids who were in the top ten shooters

in their state.

(soft music)

In different categories of firearms.

(soft music)

Every time I took a picture of someone,

their gun could never be loaded.

It could never be pointed at me.

It had to either be pointed in the air or at the ground.

Often they had to have safety caps

or zip ties around the triggers.

And the real eye opener was that it's all very mainstream.

(soft music)

During the research period for this project

I became a father for the first time to a girl

and (brief pause)

seeing young women shooting guns

and how they interact with their fathers

became something very interesting for me.

One of the most interesting young women was Katie Francis.

Katie takes part in a shooting competition called 3-Gun.

Everyone is required to shoot a handgun,

a shotgun, and a rifle, which is an AR-15.

And she handles all three guns with a level of skill

that I would have only expect to have seen

someone in the military possess.

There's something alarming about seeing someone so young

have such capabilities

and alarming about seeing her father encourage those things,

yet there's also something wonderful

about seeing the bond that she has with her father.

It's often the duty of photographers

to break stereotypes with their work.

It's human nature to enjoy looking at a photograph

of a healthy child or teenager smiling

and feeling great about who they are

and having confidence in something that they're good at.

But at the same time, this teenager's holding a gun.

There are two very interesting sides

to every portrait in this project

that I think can provoke people in many different ways.

Were I shooting 30 years ago,

I would've chosen a subculture like skateboarding,

high school football or even graffiti.

It's a culture and a growing community

that are being marketed to.

There's an enormous amount of promotion and support,

which leads to more interest and growth.

Even though this country

has had access to guns for a long time,

I don't know if it's ever been at a point

where it's normalizing so quickly

and embedding itself

in not just American culture

but particularly youth culture.

(soft music)

I strongly believe that American gun owners

are never gonna give up their guns.

It's just not possible.

There are too many legally owned guns out there.

In this project,

I have photographs of 250 young Americans

who will be the responsible gun owners of the future.

It's about young Americans getting together

on both sides of that argument

and just simply having a discussion.

But that discussion has to change

because it's certainly not happening now.