Memorial to people killed by gun violence is removed from ATF headquarters

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 Lee 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.

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.

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.

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.