News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Gun Store Owner And Gun Safety Group Find Common Ground at Murray Meeting

A debate at an informational forum in Murray about gun violence ended with a firearms store owner and gun violence prevention activists finding some common ground. 

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America hosted a forum Thursday with Featured speaker Mark Bryant of the Gun Violence Archive.

Bryant presented data from his website and argued for stricter gun regulations. He said even though Kentucky has a smaller population than New York City, the Commonwealth has more gun deaths and injuries comparatively. 

"Not only are we doing more, but we're doing more with half the population," Bryant said. 

First Choice Firearms co-owner and trained conceal-carry instructor Tracy McKinney said he came to listen to see what the “other side” had to say about gun control.

“I thought that this group was just totally anti-second amendment and based upon what they told me tonight, they aren’t anti-second amendment, they just wanting some more gun control,” McKinney said. 

McKinney pressed Bryant on his data and his views on certain gun regulations.

McKinney argued that the number of gun deaths would drop significantly in Bryant's data if he removed all of the law-enforcement related deaths. 

Bryant said there would be a drop, but it wouldn't be significant. 

"As you look down the summary ledger on our website, it's raw numbers," Bryant said. "You can see the number of police officers killed each year- and the number is going up, by the way- you can see how many perpetrators have been shot...we look at defensive gun uses, we feel like that's an important thing to have because it's part of the conversation." 

Both agreed that gun owners should undergo mandatory training. This sparked questions from other audience members, who asked McKinney about what he teaches in conceal-carry classes. 

Bryant said he enjoyed the discussion and debate- even fielding more audience questions towards McKinney during the Q&A session. 

Moms Demand Action Local Lead Christa Dubrock said her organization is non-partisan and wants people to come together on the issue of gun safety.

Dubrock said the group advocates for responsible gun ownership that includes universal background checks and guns that are stored locked and away from ammunition.

 

Taylor is a recent Murray State University graduate where she studied journalism and history. When she's not reporting for WKMS, she enjoys creative writing and traveling. She loves writing stories that involve diversity, local culture and history, nature and recreation, art and music, and national or local politics. If you have a news tip or idea, shoot her an email at tinman1@murraystate.edu!
Related Content