Waller Austin
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On September 6th, 2018, my wife Whitney walked into a mass shooting at her workplace in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was shot twelve times at close range. The shooter, a dangerous mentally ill gunman, shot a total of 35 rounds from one Taurus model 809 9mm handgun, killing three of his five innocent victims. The Cincinnati Police Department sprang into action, immediately engaging and killing the shooter, preventing more tragedy - it is a miracle Whitney survived.

Three weeks after the shooting Whitney and I launched the Whitney/Strong Organization. We feel a strong responsibility to use our unique position with this platform to make a difference - ultimately to save lives by advocating, promoting, and supporting responsible gun ownership.

negligence

“A mass shooting occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States on September 6, 2018.[2][3] At 9:10 AM EDT, Omar Santa Perez, 29, opened fire with a Taurus PT-809E 9mm pistol equipped with standard and hollow-point ammunition, in the lobby of the Fifth Third Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, killing three people.[4][5]” -Wikipedia

“ My wife was shot twelve times at close range as she pushed into a revolving door at the entrance of her office building. Fortunately, police arrived seconds after the shooting began and promptly shot Santa-Perez to death. Whitney was rushed to University of Cincinnati and given positive prognoses by their teams of medical caregivers, including neuro, thoracic, and orthopedic trauma surgeons. Awed and appalled by our unique life experience, we move forward by addressing the conditions of gun violence that envelopes us.”

People are getting shot for no reason in our country, so who’s to blame?

…Are guns good or bad?

The Austin’s founded Whitney/ Strong Organization in order to realize fewer lives impacted by gun violence by advocating for and executing responsible gun ownership practices. We are interested in education, dialogue, and diplomacy, rather than impassively pointing fingers in stalemate. We understand that discussing matters related to firearms in terms of ‘good and bad’ could ever be constructive conversation. Whitney/Strong collaborates with all concerned parties in order to address our current situation; we live in a society saturated with guns, but we can coexist with firearms while actively reversing the pervasiveness of gun violence.

 negligence is an ongoing body of work in response to my acquired post-traumatic stress disorder. Production so far includes over twenty-thousand flesh-tone crayons cast in the form of 9mm bullets and a growing array Taurus PT-809E pistols cast from uniquely catalogued mixtures of Crayola crayon; each inscribed with its own exclusive serial number specific to its meticulously catalogued color combination.

“I hopes this work compels others to become an advocate in our shared world and overlapping time/ space.”

Each box of crayons is sold in the interest of preserving lives.