A civilized dialog

Author's note: Although originally published in 2016, this is still timely today. The arguments are always the same. There has been one dramatic change to the landscape since then; the Supreme Court Bruen decision. They agreed with the Founders. As Mark Walters of Armed American Radio says, “By design, we’re not here to debate anybody. AAR is NOT a news program. The entire premise of the show is based on my belief that there IS NO debate. That debate ended on Dec. 15th 1791.” 

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When dialogue no longer works

How many times have you heard a gun-banner say, “We need to have a conversation about _________ (fill in the blank: gun control, gun safety, universal background checks, etc.).”

Recently, I read a letter to the editor* of my local paper that included a similar statement;

“Through civilized dialogue, we can create viable solutions to make our community safer and a better place to live today and in the future.”

So, I decided to take up the challenge and initiate a civilized dialogue.

Read the complete story at AMMOLAND.

NOTE:

The referenced letter was published in the Knoxville News-Sentinel online May 31, 2016. Here is the entire text of the letter:

 On Thursday, June 2, many Knoxvillians will be wearing orange. No, there isn't a big University of Tennessee game. This orange-wearing is to show solidarity for gun violence awareness as part of the nationwide 'Wear Orange' campaign.

More than 90 Americans are shot and killed every day from gun violence. This issue crosses every race, religion and age group. It can happen anywhere, even in our community, as we know with the recent shootings of 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson and 12-year-old JaJuan Latham.

To honor the lives of those like Zaevion and JaJuan and to elevate gun violence prevention, we are painting Knoxville orange, a color that pays tribute to America's proud heritage of the hunting culture and responsible gun ownership.

Orange isn't about politics or the gun debate. It is about ending gun violence and saving lives It's about leadership and working together as a community. Through civilized dialogue, we can create viable solutions to make our community safer and a better place to live today and in the future.

We applaud Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero's 'Save Our Sons' initiative aimed at ending gun violence, and the plans to build a Change Center in Knoxville that will offer education, recreation and employment for Knoxville's youth. These are steps in the right direction.

When you see the Henley Bridge lit up in orange on June 2 or see that the UT Rock has been painted orange, see this as a symbol of the value of human life. Or stop by the City-County Building through June 3 to view the photo display honoring local lives lost to gun violence. If each one of us takes a small step toward ending gun violence, we will build a stronger, safer community for many generations to come.

Em Turner Chitty, Knoxville volunteer lead, MOMS Demand Action