The importance of a mobile gun lock

Trigger warning and spoiler alert: The film discussed in this post deals with domestic violence.

‍A woman seeks freedom from violence‍

‍“It Ends with Us,” starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, was released late summer in 2024 and has seen its share of off-screen controversy--from “glamorizing domestic abuse” to life-imitating-art in Lively’s lawsuit alleging harassment on the set and a coordinated smear campaign attacking her reputation.

Lily Bloom (Lively’s character, a florist), Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni’s, a neurosurgeon) and Atlas Corrigan (played by Brandon Sklenar, Lily’s first love) are the main characters. Lily embarks on a relationship with the charming Ryle who, from courtship to marriage, becomes increasingly abusive. When Atlas re-enters Lily's life, Ryle rapes her in a fit of jealousy. After delivering their child, Lily decides to break the cycle of domestic violence she had first witnessed in her father, who also beat and raped her mother. Demanding a divorce, she holds her baby and proclaims “it ends with us”--a refusal to perpetuate generational trauma. Over time, she reunites with Atlas.

Family fire comes into play

Although largely a romantic drama centered around spousal abuse, the film also deals with gun violence and children in the home.

Early on in the film, we see Ryle violently kick a chair. He tells Lily that his rage is about a 6-year-old boy who unintentionally shot and killed an older brother. At this point, the audience assumes Ryle may be referring to a patient. Later on, we learn that Ryle himself had accidentally shot his own brother, Emerson, with his father’s unsecured and loaded gun. In the end, Lily names her daughter Emerson in honor of the child who lost his life due to irresponsible gun ownership.

While the film focuses mainly on Ryle’s monstrous abuse of his wife, the far-reaching effect of an accidental shooting is also painfully apparent. Ryle must live with the fact that he killed his own brother with a gun his parents didn’t bother to lock or put in a gun safe--Ryle the child is also a victim of an unspeakable tragedy. Sadly, this is an all too familiar reality in the United States--not enough gun owners invest in gun locks.

Safe gun storage can prevent family fire

Programs like Brady’s End Family Fire speak directly to this major plot point and source of emotional trauma in the film. 

‘Family fire’ puts a name to the preventable tragedies that result from someone misusing an unsecured firearm from the home. Unintentional shootings, firearm suicide, and many intentional shootings are all forms of family fire.

Statistics about family fire are chilling:

• 4.6 million children have access to unlocked and loaded guns.
• Every day, 8 kids are injured or killed from unintentional shootings.
• 30 million children in the U.S. are estimated to live in households with firearms.
• 76% of school shooters get their guns from the home.
• 60% of gun deaths are by suicide.

Unintentional shooting incidents like the one in “It Ends with Us” cut short innocent lives and leave lifelong emotional scars in those who survive. This romantic drama isn’t just about breaking free from domestic violence. It’s also a cautionary tale about safe gun storage. Responsible gun owners can prevent tragedies with the right gun lock.

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