Country musician seeks a more civil gun debate

Journalist David Greene (left) and musician Ketch Secor lead a discussion on gun violence in Missoula, Montana.

By Richard Ades

In our polarized society, trying to have a productive discussion on the issues of the day is a frustrating experience. And it’s never more frustrating than when the topic is guns.

As soon as the subject comes up, it unleashes a volley of charges and counter-charges so familiar that they simply ricochet around the room without ever finding their mark. In other words, minds remain unchanged.

Louder Than Guns, a documentary directed by Doug Pray, is about a musician who’s determined to change that situation.

Ketch Secor is the fiddler and lead singer of the country-bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show. Following a March 2023 mass shooting at the Covenant School in his native Nashville, Secor vowed to launch a series of discussions about gun violence at the band’s various tour stops. Since the band’s fans are a diverse group of folks who come together for the music, he figured maybe they could be convinced to come together “for the kids.”

Backing him up in the effort is David Greene, a radio journalist who’s disappointed that gun debates inevitably lead people to cast unfair judgments on those with differing opinions.

As a result of the two men’s efforts, the discussions—held at sites ranging from a Chicago barbershop to libraries, concert halls and a brewery in Missoula, Montana—are marked by mutual respect. People often disagree, but they do so without insulting each other.

Ketch Secor (wearing hat) takes part in a discussion on guns at a Chicago church.

In some cases, however, maintaining civility must have taken incredible discipline, especially from advocates of gun control.

One example comes when a woman—wearing a T-shirt with the provocative slogan “CHICAGO GUNS MATTER”—revives the argument that people are the problem rather than guns because a gun by itself is incapable of harming anyone. Another example involves a gun-store owner who insists AR-15s are nothing like weapons of war, and who seems to believe they’re no more dangerous than a simple bolt-action rifle.

In the latter case, someone does point out that an AR-15 can make anyone a capable mass murderer even if they have little or no firearms experience. Still, the point is made without resorting to insults.

For the most part, participants avoid the gun debate’s usual hackneyed talking points and simply share their feelings and experiences.

Parents talk about the terror their child experienced while surviving a school shooting. A man says he carries a gun only to protect his family and those around him. A gun advocate notes his state’s high suicide rate and acknowledges that the victims of gun violence are often the owners themselves.

Old Crow Medicine Show performs a concert in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Few of these testimonies offer new revelations, but the goodwill with which they’re delivered and received suggests that musician Secor has succeeded in elevating the tone of the gun debate.

Even so, it’s hard not to agree with one participant who points out that the discussions are lacking the very people who can actually do something about the country’s gun problem: namely, politicians who can pass the kind of common-sense gun laws most Americans want. He suggests that the problem will never be solved as long as such politicians find it lucrative to take the gun industry’s side.

It’s a sobering thought in a film that otherwise works hard to leave viewers with a feeling of hope.

Rating: 3½ stars (out of 5)

Louder Than Guns will be screened at select theaters in cities including Santa Monica and Glendale, California (July 28 and 29, respectively), Alexandria, Virginia (Aug. 4) and Louisville, Kentucky (Sept. 24). A one-hour version of the 89-minute film is available through the Reel Pass series on participating PBS affiliates. For more information, visit louderthanguns.com.