Age of innocence

Rylee, Donovan, Gracie, Catalyan, Lily, Michael... they are between 3 and 17 years old and live in Texas, Idaho, Louisiana, New York.... these children and teenagers posed for photographer Laurent Elie Badessi with firearms and answered one simple question: “What do you like about guns?” The aim of this series of photographs is to explore how important guns are to many Americans— and this book invites us to directly examine the social, political, and moral realities that guns foster.

‘‘What do you like about guns?’’
Jared, 17 years old: ‘‘I like mystery behind guns, causing people to wonder whether they are a gift to be used for protection or a burden causing catastrophe.’’