I took this photo of a small group of firearms advocates who were counter-protesting a rally to raise awareness of firearms violence in January 2013. I took this photo at one of downtown Seattle’s major public squares.

Washington state will have two competing ballot measures on the November ballot. One would require criminal background checks for all gun purchases including unregulated gun shows and individual sales, and the other would limit those checks and have somewhat limp federal standards be the prevailing regulation in the state. From the public health perspective, we have a major problem in this country with firearms. You can read the previous link for more details. I will vote in favor of the initiative supporting basic background checks, though I believe we can and should do a lot more to promote public health and reduce harm and injury. I took this picture at a rally in January 2013 in Seattle in support of greater controls over the sale of firearms, and advocates against any new regulation came to event to show their opposition, wearing handguns openly in Westlake Plaza in downtown Seattle. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)