She arrived in Washington, D.C. late Friday evening on March 23 and made a stop in DuPont, an affluent sector of the city to meet Marjory Stoneman Douglas Alumna who currently attends the University of Alabama and organized a homestay program so she and several of her friends could attend the National Gun March the following afternoon

Myers was a high school English teacher for 24 years and sat on the school board in Janesville, Wisconsin.

“Kids and guns don’t mix. Guns in schools don’t mix,” said Myers.

Myers said that the issue of guns has been incredibly important for a long time. She has been through active shooter drills and says that such drills are traumatizing to students, in her school district they would have teachers use airsoft guns to add a level of seriousness to their Active Shooter Drills.

“Teachers? Bearing arms? That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my whole life,” said Myers. “I’m here to teach. I got into this job to be able to have an incredible impact on young people I did not get into this job to potentially take someone’s life. I just don’t think that’s what we sign up for.”

She said if teachers were to bare arms law enforcement might have a difficult time distinguishing between the assailant and the individuals working to protect the school. Myers finds it so lopsided that politicians look to schools to solve this issue.

“We don’t even have proper school supplies. Do you think that when push comes to shove they will really be able to provide us or be willing to provide us with proper training,” said Myers.

Myers finds the issues surrounding gun control complex but says the solutions lie in universal background checks, banning military style assault weapons, limiting clip sizes as well as reversing the Dickey Amendment, which bans the Center for Disease Control from looking at intersections of guns and mental health.

Myers said that the young people inspire her, that she is proud to teach them and proud to know them. She emphasized that this is a historical movement and moment in time.

“I hope that this keeps the issue in the face of politicians who are not acting,” said Myers.

The post <i class="fab fa-youtube"></i> Wisconsin Candidate for Congress Marches In DC appeared first on Gun March 2018.

Chen, 25, works in a small gun store nestled on a quiet block in Arlington, Virginia, only three miles from the White House. It has a door that opens with a handgun handle. Its website touts that it sells “high-end sporting and self defense arms and accessories.” Inside, the store bustles with activity only hours after the D.C. gun march. The diverse clientele strolling through the shop consists of women, whites, Hispanics and African-Americans.

Enlarge

Chen is a graduate student studying National Security at Georgetown with hopes of one day working for the Department of Defense or Homeland Security, and he finds a particular interest in history as it pertains to guns and war.

He spoke heavily on the nomenclature used in the media to describe guns and weaponry and how it is often incorrect.

“I think a lot of journalists, you know and don’t take this personally,” said Chen. “But that’s just not what they specialize in, and it’s hard for them. A job in journalism means fair balance.”

He went on to explain the terms like semi versus fully automatic, assault weapons and explained that the textbook definition of an assault rifle is a Select fire weapon using an intermediate caliber so select fire basically means it can go from semi-automatic to fully automatic or some variant of fully automatic fire.

Chen had a lot of insight on the gun debate, partly because he spent his childhood bonding with his dad, who is a trauma surgeon in California, over target shooting and collecting guns.

“Where my dad was more interested in target guns, I just had an interest in older guns so I kind of had to cajole him over the years to switch over and be interested,” said Chen.

The gun debate sparks conversation about whether or not the Second Amendment is archaic.

“I understand how people think that way, but also the Constitution didn’t include social media, so if the Second Amendment only applies to muskets does that mean that the First Amendment only applies to print and how loud you can shout? Does that mean we all need to control social media or have government mandated accounts and ban assault accounts?” he laughed. “I know that that’s a gross generalization, but it’s the prospective that worries me. What concerns me is how many times until we say that could never happen here, and then it does.”

According to Chen, the average gun owner in Virginia does not necessarily fit a profile. He said that gun owners encompass men and women of all backgrounds including a spike in gun owners in the LGBTQ+ community after the Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando, Florida in 2016. An organization called the Pink Pistols saw an increase in membership after fear of hate crimes.

“We do need to talk about guns, we need to talk about it. That’s how democracy works; we work to come to an agreement, to listen to each other,” said Chen. “You will find the anti-gun people talking with the anti-gun people and the pro-gun people are talking to the pro-gun people and everyone is upset, but if we talked about it, we might have a different result.”

Guns hold a special place in his life, as a bonding moment with his father and a tie to history.

“I’ve been shooting since I was 11 years old. I am really into guns, but the thing is, the worst thing is not, not knowing something, but thinking you know something you don’t. And not to be biased, but I think that it happens a lot with the anti-gun side, but the pro-gun people aren’t sharing that knowledge or that experience.”

Chen reflected heavily on both his relationship with guns as well as the gun issue. Chen while at work took time aside to educate and discuss the issue as an individual, separate from his place of work, to an extended degree and even extended his personal information to continue the conversation.

“What difference does it make if I post all over Facebook that I am pro-Second Amendment? People who know me know my stance, and it’s not worth the argument, but I am always excited to help educate people who are truly interested in my educated opinion and the knowledge I’ve acquired,” said Chen.

The post Each Gun Tells A Story: A Graduate Student Explains appeared first on Gun March 2018.