--- title: These 21 Americans Came Together to Discuss Gun Control description: Citizens with completely different views on guns came together for an intense dialogue in Washington, D.C. as part of the Dialogue Journalism project. canonical: https://time.com/5226590/guns-conversation-america/ author: Diane Tsai article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-04T15:31:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:05:07.329Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Watch 21 Americans Come Together to Discuss Gun Control og:description: They all had opposing views on the hot-button issue og:url: https://time.com/5226590/guns-conversation-america/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafe6924b2d6528e9/69892cbc929fad5594bf02af/guns-conversation-tout-2.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1671 og:image:height: 940 og:image:alt: March For Our Lives Newseum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch 21 Americans Come Together to Discuss Gun Control twitter:description: They all had opposing views on the hot-button issue twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafe6924b2d6528e9/69892cbc929fad5594bf02af/guns-conversation-tout-2.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Happens When You Reimagine the Difficult Conversation About Guns > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=73ef20b8-7e16-4abe-8c60-9039897693e8&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What Happens When You Reimagine the Difficult Conversation About Guns [Watch (HLS stream): What Happens When You Reimagine the Difficult Conversation About Guns](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iTjuTTtO.m3u8) (6:21)  _Published 2018-04-03. On the weekend of the March for Our Lives protests, 21 people came together in Washington, D.C. to learn how to have a conversation about guns in America._ by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/), [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Susanna Schrobsdorff](https://time.com/author/susanna-schrobsdorff/) Apr 4, 2018 3:31 PM UTC by [Diane Tsai](https://time.com/author/diane-tsai/), [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Susanna Schrobsdorff](https://time.com/author/susanna-schrobsdorff/) Apr 4, 2018 3:31 PM UTC We spend a lot of time talking about guns. We have arguments, protests, declarations, and slogans about what kind of weapons can be sold and to whom. But the one thing we rarely have when it comes to firearms is a real conversation, and not just with members of our own tribe, but with people whose ideas don’t align with ours. That is perhaps why the country is so stuck when it comes to reducing gun violence. In an effort to shake up that dynamic, TIME partnered with [_Advance Local_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/lHTlC73M3VIpzjrgukjqZG?domain=advancelocal.com), which operates 10 local media outlets across the country, to create an event designed to foster civil yet honest dialogue between people whose backgrounds and beliefs have led them to opposing views on this issue. This was no one-hour town hall: Advance Local brought 21 citizens to Washington DC for a two-day intensive workshop on the weekend of the March For Our Lives protests. They were teachers and gun-rights advocates, hunters and police officers, mothers and fathers who hailed from New Jersey to Alabama to Portland. Facilitators Parisa Parsa and John Sarrouf of Essential Partners asked participants a question that seems simple, but is crafted to inspire empathy and connection: “Tell me a story that will help me understand why you believe what you believe about guns.” You’ll see their compelling and often heartbreaking responses to that question and each other’s stories in this video. The Washington, DC workshop is the start of a Dialogue Journalism project created by [Spaceship Media](http://spaceshipmedia.org), which aims to dig more deeply into ways the media can to help people do the hard work of democracy. The next step of the project is a month-long moderated online discussion of 150 people beginning this week. As Michelle Holmes, Vice President of Content at [Alabama Media Group](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/3saYC82g2KsvX8mGI4-flR?domain=alabamamediagroup.com) and the project’s director explains, the goal is to map out some common territory in a nation riven by profound divides. It’s time, she says, to ask ourselves: “How can we break through the shouting and the noise?” “How can we hear one another’s hearts speaking?” _This project is a partnership_ _of_ [_Advance Local_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/lHTlC73M3VIpzjrgukjqZG?domain=advancelocal.com)_,_ [_TIME_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/DTYpC9rjrYF3zVJ0sBKhaM?domain=time.com)_,_ [_Spaceship Media_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/lquHC0RMRDsok0nxIBqgud?domain=spaceshipmedia.org)_, the_ [_Newseum_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/ZTlKCgJyJMF0q5v3iPotH5?domain=newseum.org)_,_ [_Essential Partners_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/v9fyCjRBR6s5Y1zruGrMjL?domain=whatisessential.org) _and_ [_Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/EHr5CkRgRXsWk3DEI4GQFJ?domain=revealnews.org)_._ ## Transcript We think when we're talking about guns, we're talking about facts and types of guns. But when we're talking about guns, we're actually talking about our relationships. You're talking about your family. You're talking about your identity and your values and deep beliefs. In this moment, I am 28, Latina, and a female. And I am one of them too. [ MUSIC ] Are there answer / s? Yeah. [ MUSIC ] Terrorized. [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] I was raised by my grandmother. She was a single mother of five, and I grew up hearing all these awful, awful stories that she would tell us. Where she was always the victim Did you feel safe that you have a gun. I sleep with my hand gun on my [ INAUDIBLE ] and that does make me feel safe. I'm just saying say you're in the house asleep. And they burst in. Kick the door in. So they'll get your weapon first. They could [ INAUDIBLE ], but my bed is on lock burst. You need my finger print to open. Two seconds right? So he can't get to it. I'm born and raised on the south side of Chicago in the Englewood community. As a kid, my father was my role model. He was selling drugs and he was in a gang. I end up doing 20 years of my life in prison. I made a lot of bad choices. I used to like having guns around, but as I got older, started losing a lot of close friends to gun violence and seeing what was going on, I said, no, I don't like guns around no more. That I felt very good about my ability to have what they refer to as an assault rifle because for personal security, it's a great firearm and I'm glad that you know, we have the right to own those. things. Today, I felt for the first time that I got to know someone who Thinks very differently and go okay, I'm kind of in a real conversation [ UNKNOWN ] our email number and I like him. This particular person has a whole history that led to them feeling that need of a protection. And I understand that now. I'm empathetic to that. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] If you ask a person if they understand people on the other side of a political issue, 70 % of us think, yeah, we get those people. I know what they think and what they care about. But only 30 % of us think, yeah, they get us. Theres a huge gap between our assessment of how well we understand other people and how well we we feel understood by them. [ MUSIC ] I think the first thing the people should do is turn to each other and say can you tell me a story? That would help me understand how you've come to the beliefs that you have about guns. Then we should get into values. What values do you hold that you really care about that lead you to think the way you do? Where is this complex for you, because so often when we're in conflict other people get flat- You're just pro gun, I'm just anti gun, or I'm just pro this, you're just that. But none of us are just one thing. All of us are more complex, so ask about the complexity and share your own. 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