An exhibit showing victims of gun violence has been taken down at the headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Justice has confirmed.
The exhibit showed the portraits of 120 people killed in gun violence. A digital kiosk with biographies of each person was also part of the exhibit. An online version has also been taken down.
The ATF enforces federal gun laws and is tasked with regulating the firearms industry. It is within the Department of Justice.
One of those portraits taken down was of Robert Godwin Sr., who was shot to death in Cleveland in 2017 while he was out collecting aluminum cans.
On the wall, Godwin was pictured smiling and preparing fish he'd just caught for a family meal. Godwin's daughter, Brenda Joiner, describes her father as an avid fisherman who was humble and beloved. She says his place in the inaugural exhibit was special.
"It was absolutely an honor and a very proud moment and I felt like this country was actually taking recognition and taking note of all the lives that are lost to gun violence," she told NPR.
In a statement to NPR on Sunday, a DOJ spokesperson suggested it will still honor victims in other ways, but not only of gun violence: "The ATF will continue to honor the memory of all victims of violent crime while at the same time preserving the rights of law-abiding Americans."
Faces of Gun Violence honored victims of mass shootings and school shootings, as well as victims of domestic violence, people who died by suicide, and other victims of gun violence. Portraits of law enforcement officers killed by gun violence were also part of the exhibit.
The removal was first reported by The Washington Post.
The Justice Department dedicated the exhibit in April 2024. The Biden administration planned for a new group of 200 victims to be honored by the memorial each year.
Former ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said in a statement at the time of the dedication last year: "The 'Faces of Gun Violence' exhibit is a permanent reminder of what ATF comes to work to do every day — a reminder of why agents risk their lives and why everyone at ATF dedicates their careers to this mission: to honor the fallen and protect the living."
Children killed in school shootings and those who lost their lives to accidental gunfire were also featured in the exhibit. Kristin Song's son Ethan was one of them. He was killed by an unsecured gun at a neighbor's home in 2018.
Song helped pass Ethan's Law in their home state of Connecticut and several other states. The law requires gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms. She's working to pass a federal version of the law to set national standards.
"Those faces once served as a call to action — reminding ATF employees why their work matters and inspiring them to protect our children. But under this administration, those same images became a mirror the Trump administration couldn't bear to face — a reminder of all the children this country has failed, and all the children they are willing to fail again," Song said in a statement to NPR.
The Biden administration had already chosen the new group of honorees who were supposed to be installed in the next exhibit, replacing the inaugural group, according to Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence. Brown says her organization and other groups provided input in the selection process and new families were anticipating the installation of their loved ones to the exhibit last month.
"For people who were already traumatized enough by gun violence, just the unceremonious lack of care taken here is deeply, deeply troubling," said Brown in an interview with NPR.
Brown views the DOJ's decision to take down the exhibit as political and an example of the Trump administration's efforts to roll back firearms regulations.
"What they want to do is deny the reality that gun violence exists and that makes me very angry," said Brown. "What we will see over time is absolutely a rise in gun violence; we will see a rise in homicide; we will see a rise in suicide; we will see a rise in unintentional injury of kids with guns in the home."
Fred Guttenberg's daughter Jaime was pictured on the Faces of Gun Violence memorial. She was among the 17 people shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in 2018.
"I worked with the ATF to honor my daughter Jaime and other victims of the Parkland shooting in the creation of the 'Faces of Gun Violence' memorial at headquarters. ... We are here saddened by the reality that her photo has been removed and sits in an ATF trash can, completely disregarded by this heartless Administration who could clearly care less about my child or any child being gunned down in America," Guttenberg said in a statement.
The Justice Department didn't answer a question from NPR asking where the portraits are now.
Brenda Joiner joined the Brady team after her father's death. She has made ending gun violence her life's work.
"I can't bring my dad back, but I darn well can do some good fighting for other people, and that's what that wall meant for me," she said.
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