Today is Gun Violence Prevention Day—it is also the launch of a new tool for voters to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill—ShootATweet.com. Created by Award-Winning Creative Director Carl Corbitt and developed and produced by Left Field Labs, ShootATweet.com turns news reports collected by the Gun Violence Archive into tweets to members of Congress so constituents can automatically share the news of every gun-related death with their elected officials along with a message prompting them to take action.
"The daily effect of gun violence is always eclipsed by the horrific tragedies of mass-shootings. Yesterday every news network had cameras on UCLA, but even these events never stay top-of-mind for long for most lawmakers. ShootATweet aims to let the daily death toll speak for itself," explains Corbitt.
Corbitt began work on ShootATweet late last year after People Magazine published the contact information of every member of Congress following the mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon. Corbitt explains, "The goal was to find a simple way for people to reach out to Congress after every shooting, not just those covered by National media."
While some consider automated Twitter messages SPAM, Corbitt disagrees, "I don't believe a voter's opinion is junk mail. So while the gun lobby spends Millions to be heard by Congress, we're using technology to help ordinary citizens be heard too."
Akash Khokha, COO and Partner at Left Field Labs and his team joined the effort at the first of the year. "Our company creates innovative ways for technology to serve humanity. We couldn't think of a better use of our skills than to help voters instantly share news of the gun violence in their communities with their elected officials in Washington," explains Khokha.
ShootATweet.com is owned by Shoot A Tweet Inc. a 501(c)(4) organization focused on promoting and facilitating the dialogue between voters and their elected officials about news of gun violence in their area.
Left Field Labs is a company founded with the understanding that technology is pushing humanity towards a new era of art, culture, and commerce. We approach our work not only to achieve a business goal, but as a way to bring technology more into harmony with the human experience.
