By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
An NRA firearms instructor and the founder of a coalition against gun violence will sit on a panel together to discuss the number of shootings in the U.S.
The result, organizers hope, will be a balanced discussion showing that wanting to end so much gun violence in America is not anti-gun.
“I come from a gun family,” said Tom Klein, of Bowling Green. As a child, he often went hunting and skeet shooting with his father. “I grew up with guns.”
But Klein’s appreciation of guns doesn’t equate to an understanding of gun violence.
“The shootings are just too many to neglect,” he said.
So Klein and others with similar concerns have gathered people with different backgrounds to examine ways to end gun violence. Klein said the topic came up at his book club at St. Timothy’s in Perrysburg, so the group decided to bring together a balanced panel to discuss the topic.
The panel discussion is planned for Thursday, Oct. 27, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Wood County District Public Library atrium, 251 N. Main St., Bowling Green. The public is welcome to attend.
The panel will represent diverse backgrounds – an NRA firearms instructor, a public health professor, a sociology and criminology professor, and a woman who founded the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence.
“I think we’ll have a balanced experience,” Klein said.
Toby Hoover, the coalition founder, has the perspective of someone who lost a family member to gun violence. Her husband was killed by an armed robber in a hardware store.
“I bring the perspective of being a survivor of a victim,” she said. “This is very personal for me.”
Hoover has worked on legislation and founded the coalition in 1996.
“I hope that when people leave, they don’t feel helpless,” she said. “There’s a lot of work being done.”
Changes cannot only occur at the legislative level in Washington or Columbus, but also in local neighborhoods, Hoover said. “There’s lots of stuff being done.”
“We live in a country that’s pretty afraid. We’re in an election that makes people afraid.”
Hoover hopes people leave the panel discussion realizing there are actions they can take other than arming themselves.
“We’ve normalized everyone walking around with a gun. That’s not the answer,” she said, noting the mindset of people who feel they need to carry guns in public or at home. “You change your idea of how you approach strangers and people you know.”
“It’s a weapon,” not an everyday accessory, she said of guns. “That’s not the answer to having a civilized society.”
According to the organizers, the goal of the panel discussion is to educate the public about gun issues, bring sides in the gun debate closer together, and identify action to make the U.S. less violent and more safe.
Panel members include:
- Joe Jacoby, professor emeritus, sociology and criminology, Bowling Green State University.
- Amy Thompson, PhD, professor public health at University of Toledo, published researcher.
- Toby Hoover, founder of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence.
- Michael Temple, NRA certified firearms instructor.
- Phil Stinson, associate professor of the Criminal Justice program at BGSU.
“Violence is causing our families and communities to live in fear. The causes are plentiful and the means accessible. Believing that we all need to be part of the solutions for everyone’s safety a dedicated group of advocates – Advocates to End Gun Violence – will host a panel discussion,” the organizers stated in a press release.
Some of the questions that may be addressed during the forum are:
- What role does the Second Amendment play in the discussion of gun violence?
- Is an armed society a safer society?
- Do we have a culture of violence? How does gun ownership affect that violence?
- Chicago has one of the most restricted sets of gun controls in the US and has one of the highest numbers of gun deaths. Why?
- “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” True?
- Does my Second Amendment right to own guns trump others’ rights to safety?
- What reasonable restrictions can we place on guns?
- What can “smart guns” (which work only when fired by their owner) and gun locks do to protect against gun accidents, impulse shootings, and suicide? What would a longer waiting period do?
- What role do comprehensive background checks and mental health availability play in gun violence? Would enforced restrictions on gun sales to felons, hate crime perpetrators and those committing domestic violence help keep us safer?
- How can each of us make our community safer and less violent?
