I've Been Asked to Speak at a Gun Control Discussion

As the title says, I've been asked to participate in a round table discussion organized by a local church and the university. It's not a debate, and the goal is to educate attendees on differing viewpoints.

This isn't a "gotcha" type opportunity where anyone is trying to "win," rather, it is an opportunity to expose those not part of the firearms community to what we do and why we do it, outside the lens of the barrage of negative media.

I'm an NRA Range Safety Officer, work within the firearms industry, and am a big 2A advocate. I work hand in hand with youth shooting sports organizations. I live in an academic town that perceives itself as progressive and deems itself to be very "common sense" about things.

I have a decent list of resources and links from my previous activities (Mass Casualty Event Community Discussion, Offgrid Skillshares, and Security Education events). Still, I'm reaching out for references to any good data (preferably peer-reviewed) that I can read up on to prepare for the upcoming discussion in 8 days. No need to add 2 cents, just links to data and research.

I prefer not to approach the partisan political aspects, so please refrain from anything potentially loaded in that capacity.

TIA!

MODS: Please delete or lock if you think this thread is unwarranted.

EDIT: RIP to my notifications & inbox

 

three temp bans and one thread lock j/k

 

I think we have a fantastic mod team here who are very fair and consistent in their decisions.

 

no doubt, that's why I said j/k

 

An interesting fact I like to bring up during gun culture discussions is that our lax gun ownership laws and southern border issues heavily contribute to problems in Mexico, which in turn contributes to issues in the US creating a cyclical problem. Not trying to make a point either way on the topic; I bring it up because most people are unaware of this part of the discussion. Good 7 minute listen:
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/07/1103...ffic-from-the-u-s-to-mexico-happens-illegally

If you haven't included this in your talks before I think it would be well worth considering

 

I wrote a paper in college expressing that countries with heavy gun rulings (UK) still have murder rates similar to the US. The difference is the weapons used. It was a long time ago, but I'd do a little research in that direction.

My main direction was to point to the lack of support towards metal healthcare.

 

I’m a fan of this gal, personally. She seems to have a pretty common sense approach to gun control with stats to back it up. You can search for her speeches in front of congress on YouTube and her articles can be found here…

https://www.heritage.org/staff/amy-swearer

 

BBC and NPR? In the BBC article:
“This, in turn, exposed 11 million people to firearms in their homes, including 5 million children.”

“Exposed”? Hardly unbiased sources. I would look elsewhere For sources OP.

 

Side note: I am leery when either party says “common sense (fill in the blank) legislation”. Usually there is nothing “common sense” about it…but who wants to be perceived as being against “common sense”?
Once they use this descriptor, I generally ignore them.

 

I would implore you to recommend and unbiased source and not get your panties in a bunch because you don't like what the numbers say. I am a gun owner, I'm also a factual person and the BBC article just had a nice index of studies linked in it which is what the OP asked for. I've since removed it from my post since I see it will cause issues.

Not to get off topic, but if you are concerned at all with the bias of my sources I can assure you I would not recommend anything not at the top of this pyramid, or in the green box:

https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/

 

This brings up a good side convo about the inflammatory language used in media sources. Headlines are rife with it and I tend to avoid those articles because they are likely biased or have an underlying narrative that is usually obvious to most folks. However, I happened upon both of these articles during my morning constitutional today and they do provide a wealth of verified data that can be used to support discussion. I learned in college STAT classes that data can be cut and glued to support just about anything depending on the terminology used. It's neat to dig deep into the stuff.

 

It's a mental health issue, I've owned guns all my life, know several people that have owned guns all their lives, and yet, none of us have ever shot another human being. It's education and awareness that are lacking in todays new gun atmosphere. Can't supply any links to studies on this, but it seems this is the exact problem, I dunno.

 

Don't have anything to add here; but good luck friend.

 

I come across her content pretty regularly. She is indeed legit.

 

I would also like to play devils advocate for a moment and point out that while this can be true, it's also important not to use the "data can be manipulated" as a cop-out to shut down a discussion. I'm not in any way suggesting or accusing you of doing so. More-so I wanted to make the comment for the readers of the thread as I feel it's a point worth making

 

Thanks! Fruitful conversations can happen so long as ground rules are laid out, and people don't go all in with emotional pleas. In my opinion, it takes one frantic, red-faced person to derail the whole convo.

 

Good point. I'm a Root Cause Mitigation guy rather than a Band-Aid guy, so my follow-up question would be "what causes mental health lapses and what resources would stop the problem before it becomes a problem?" So if we can identify and stop whatever causes mental health lapses, we can potentially be more effective at stopping these incidents.

Side convo- Everyone manages "Mental Health" every day of our lives. What resources equipped us to manage our own mental health effectively and when were we exposed to these resources? Where do the personal responsibility to the community and the community's responsibility to the individual overlap? Very big questions without quick answers, but they are good things to ponder during quiet time.

Thank you for bringing up this important aspect!

 

Exactly why I won't add anything lol I don't want to be collateral damage when the banhammers start flying

You've done a good job laying a respectful foundation for discussion, but that means nothing for the way other members act. I would encourage you to keep politics out of it as much as possible, but I think we both know it will likely be an impossible task for others who may participate in your round table. That being said, I'm not going to link any political content here, but go find some political points to research, because you know they're gonna come up. Research studies and stats alone aren't enough for people. They've been out there for years, yet people still discount them.

 

Thank you! That is a very good point. As far as the event being a fruitful and informative event, I will refrain from anything potentially polarizing and do not intend to "shut down" or silence anyone's talking points, rather, be sure we all investigate our own talking points well before sharing.