If I have promoted one theme in the 946 columns I have published on this website, as well as the nearly 250 columns I have written for Huffington Post, it is the idea that each side in the gun debate needs to understand the other side’s point of view or a reasonable and sufficiently evidence-based discussion will never take place. In fact, what drew me to this endeavor was the degree to which I personally have a foot in each camp, and find myself quite comfortable walking through a rhetorical landscape where most gun violence prevention activists or gun-rights activists fear to tread.
But the truth is that I’m beginning to get a bit bored by always looking at my computer screen and seeing my own words staring me back in the face. So I have decided to change the format of this website somewhat, and in addition to what I will continue to say, open its pages to what other folks on both sides of the gun debate want to say as well.
Going forward, I have created an additional page to list Contributing Editors, which contains the names, pics and bios of people who contribute columns to this site. These blogs may have appeared on their own websites, they may be written to be published just here, but they will not be previously-published work which I choose to re-blog; the authors will have made a conscious decision to share their work with me.
I make no editorial changes in text of any kind because I assume that anyone who wants to appear as an author on my website knows the basic requirements that define acceptable public text; each CE’s first submission must be accompanied by a brief bio, a pic and a contactable email address in case readers want to direct a comment directly to the author, in the same way that readers can send a comment directly to me. If the CE also writes a blog, I’m happy to provide a link.
The first two CE contributions have been posted, and I am extremely pleased with the quality of these works. I am also honored to highlight the background, experience and commitment of these two individuals to what they write and what they believe. But the Contributing Editor section is open to anyone who wants to add a commentary to the public discussion about guns. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “In the public debate we are all entitled to our own opinions, we are not entitled to our own facts.” With all due respect to the late Senator from New York, on my website anyone who wishes to contribute a column will be entitled to both.
Since 2012 I have been calling on everyone who is concerned about guns to stop yelling at each other, stop calling names, sit down and have a serious chat. So now everyone has an opportunity to do exactly that. But it won’t happen if you – all of you – decide it’s easier to just send someone else an email or a tweet. You’ll need to spend a little more time and energy (and words) to get your points across on my website.
And here’s your opportunity to do exactly that!
Nov 12, 2017 @ 11:55:21
The photograph of what appears to be a “gun show” has Mr. Stephen Willeford of Sutherland Springs, Texas dead center (no pun intended).
Nov 12, 2017 @ 14:54:35
That’s great, Mike, and I do appreciate your stance. The problem that I have with the gun debate (and I am fully aware that it doesn’t follow party lines…at least not as closely as most folks think,) is that I cannot get past the idea of why someone feels the need to question why I own guns. Why do I need them? Why does anyone need them? I’ve offered countless hours of my time attempting to convince anti-gunners to accept that I should have the right to even own a firearm, let alone any number of ‘scary’ ‘military style’ firearms. To many of us the right is as simple as the second amendment. To others it’s a way of life. I personally fall somewhere in the middle. In my experience, there is simply no amount of logic, no amount of rational thought, no proliferation of facts that will convince someone of the anti-gun ilk have a right to own a firearm. Whatever the purpose, be it defense, target shooting, or just collecting items you find interesting, we seem to be dumped into a category of condoning violence and moreover, being the root cause of the violence. I wholly reject this concept and feel that anyone who supports that ideology is a lost cause. Vapid individuals have no business dictating legislation.
Nov 12, 2017 @ 19:52:43
Have you ever thought about having a place on your web site for letting people make requests for you or your new contributors to write about certain topics? As an example I cannot remember ever reading an article where someone talked about all of the different categories of people who cause problems with guns and what possible solutions may be to prevent or minimize the different problems for each of the groups. Spousal abusers with no criminal record at the moment are different than someone building their ‘arsenal’ so they can become famous as a mass shooter. Sometimes the solution may be regulations and sometimes finding ways to get people to change their behavior like getting the TV news people to stop creating role models for future shooters. I would like to see to see an expert tackle these topics. There is no one size fits all here. So often after a tragedy we here the need new regulations that would have done nothing to prevent the tragedy. That is why I am interested in the over picture.
Nov 13, 2017 @ 08:15:55
There is such a place. I announced it yesterday: https://mikethegunguy.com/2017/11/12/mike-the-gun-guy-opens-a-new-page/. What are you waiting for?
Nov 13, 2017 @ 09:31:47
Isn’t there a question in the comment above this one? I should have said “overall” in the last sentence by the way. I will try again: What are solutions to gun violence that actually work for each of the different categories of people who cause the violence?. What solutions don’t work but just sound reasonable in each of the categories?
Mar 15, 2018 @ 12:56:07
Mike
I host a live public affairs call-in program on WPFW in DC. We are heard in DC, VA and MD, including Baltimore and Annapolis.
I am wondering if you might be available for 40 minutes this coming Tuesday at 1105a. You wouldn’t need to go into a studio, but you would need to be on a lineline. Want to talk about how the NRA uses fear to motivate. You’d be joined by the head of the Washington Teachers Union and a high school student. Possible that Denny Henigan might join us as well
Please let me know, asap, if he might be able to join us
Many thanks!
David Rabin
Host, WPFW’s Community Watch and Comment