(speaking as a non-american) I don't think that the press publishing pictures of dead kids after school shootings will change anything in how the US views that issue specifically. All it will do is throw a bunch more gross photos out there on social media.
People in the US are too politically encamped for pictures of dead kids to move the needle on gun rights at this point. It's not happening; it's been made clear over and over again that no matter the cost in human lives, "muh guns" is what triumphs over everything else for Americans. The consequences are obvious and the stalemate is so eternal that "a school shooting happened in the US" doesn't even make the local news here anymore in 99% of the cases.
From an ethical perspective, publishing those pictures will only harm the relatives of the victims - once it's been normalized by a regular outlet to try and push this needle, there's a whole array of sleazeballs out there with less ethics that will do it for every shooting, regardless of the wishes of the family, whether that's to move the needle or to just be a dick to the relatives.
It's also not comparable to the horrors of war in this case - there the needle can be moved with that kind of shock imagery because people are so used to the sanitized view of war. School shootings are already bloody - it won't move any needles.
People in the US are too politically encamped for pictures of dead kids to move the needle on gun rights at this point. It's not happening; it's been made clear over and over again that no matter the cost in human lives, "muh guns" is what triumphs over everything else for Americans. The consequences are obvious and the stalemate is so eternal that "a school shooting happened in the US" doesn't even make the local news here anymore in 99% of the cases.
From an ethical perspective, publishing those pictures will only harm the relatives of the victims - once it's been normalized by a regular outlet to try and push this needle, there's a whole array of sleazeballs out there with less ethics that will do it for every shooting, regardless of the wishes of the family, whether that's to move the needle or to just be a dick to the relatives.
It's also not comparable to the horrors of war in this case - there the needle can be moved with that kind of shock imagery because people are so used to the sanitized view of war. School shootings are already bloody - it won't move any needles.