Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “2nd Amendment Solutions”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24? Screen Print, Signed and Numbered Edition of 450. $45. For release on 1/21/2011 at a random time. There were a few alternative tag lines for this poster including: WHY DO I NEED A GUN?… TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE MY GUNS AWAY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN AMERICANS WON’T ADOPT THE METRIC SYSTEM?… WE USE 9MM’S ALL THE TIME! I began this print before the recent shootings in Arizona inspired by Nevada Tea Party nut job Sharron Angle’s comment that “if congress keeps going this way, people are looking for 2nd Amendment remedies” The 2nd Amendment reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It was adopted in 1791 shortly after the revolutionary war in which the colonies had freed themselves from an English monarchy that gave the colonies no representation. The wisdom of the 2nd Amendment was to ensure that a state militia could combat dictatorial oppression. I would assert that putting easily concealed handguns in the hands of a large portion of the civilian population was probably not what the founding fathers had in mind. My concern over violent rhetoric in politics and the very easy access to guns seems reasonably well founded. I’m not blaming violent rhetoric for the shootings committed by a mentally ill man, but it can’t help. Inciting hostility is just uncivilized and irresponsible. I’m perplexed by America’s love of hand guns. I grew up in South Carolina hunting with my dad and we always had shotguns in the house. My dad put a framed piece in my room that said “A wise hunter once said: all the Pheasants ever bred won’t repay for one man dead”. I was taught to honor and value human life. Whatever your feelings are about hunting, you can’t easily conceal a shotgun, but you can use it to defend your home. Hand guns are too easy to misuse. A lot of people claim to own hand guns for self-defense, but check out the statistics below. Hand guns lead to intentional or unintentional misuse far more often than they are used for justifiable, self-defense related homicides.
Summary
2nd Amendment Solutions is a 2011 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 by 24 inches, signed and numbered in an edition of 450 at $45. Released January 21, 2011, the print engages American gun politics. In his accompanying statement, Fairey describes beginning the work before the 2011 Arizona shootings, prompted by political rhetoric about "2nd Amendment remedies," and quotes the amendment's text. He distinguishes between hunting with shotguns, which he grew up doing in South Carolina, and easily concealed handguns, arguing that handguns are too easily misused. The piece pairs Fairey's graphic style with a pointed commentary on violent political rhetoric and gun access.
Why It Matters
2nd Amendment Solutions is one of Fairey's most explicitly political prints of the early 2010s, taking direct aim at American gun culture and the violent rhetoric surrounding it. The source statement is unusually detailed: Fairey ties the work to a specific political comment about "2nd Amendment remedies," notes that he started the print before the 2011 Arizona shootings, and lays out a personal argument distinguishing hunting shotguns from concealable handguns. That candor makes the print a clear document of his views, and a strong example of how he uses the poster form to argue, not just decorate. The work sits at the intersection of Americana iconography and social-justice critique, deploying patriotic visual language to question how the Second Amendment is invoked. For collectors, its value lies in this explicit, well-articulated message and its timeliness within an ongoing national debate. At an edition of 450, signed and numbered, it is a contained release. Its significance is driven by the directness of its politics and the documented artist statement, which gives the piece unusual interpretive depth.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who prioritize Fairey's overtly political and socially engaged work, especially those building a collection around American social-justice and gun-policy themes. The detailed, on-the-record artist statement adds interpretive value that many decorative prints lack, making it attractive to buyers who want art with a documented argument behind it. Signed and numbered in an edition of 450 at its original $45 release, it is a contained run with clear provenance. It displays as a conversation piece and fits naturally alongside Fairey's other protest and anti-violence prints, rewarding collectors focused on his political commentary rather than his ornamental or music-related output.
Historical Context
Released in January 2011, 2nd Amendment Solutions belongs to Fairey's continued use of the poster as political commentary in the years after the 2008 Obama campaign imagery. The print responds to a specific moment, inflammatory rhetoric about "2nd Amendment remedies" and the early-2011 Arizona shootings, placing it firmly within his activist output. Fairey's statement connects the work to his South Carolina upbringing and his distinction between hunting and handgun use, grounding the politics in personal history. Within his arc, it extends the social-critique thread that would later include works like Raise the Caliber, showing his recurring engagement with gun violence and the misuse of patriotic and constitutional language in American political debate.
FAQ
What is the print about?
It addresses American gun politics. Fairey's statement says he started it before the 2011 Arizona shootings, prompted by rhetoric about "2nd Amendment remedies," and argues that easily concealed handguns are more prone to misuse than shotguns used for hunting or home defense.
What are the size and edition details?
The print is 18 by 24 inches, screen printed, signed and numbered in an edition of 450, and was released January 21, 2011, at $45 by Obey Giant.
Did the print have alternate tag lines?
Yes. Fairey notes a few alternative tag lines were considered, including lines satirizing self-defense and metric-system arguments, before the final version was released.
How does it fit Fairey's political work?
It is among his explicitly political prints, using Americana visual language to critique violent political rhetoric and gun access. It connects to his later gun-violence works such as Raise the Caliber.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.