Louder Than Guns follows members of a country music band as they travel the country touring and talking with small groups of people in many of the towns they visit. They go to Montana, Tennessee, Illinois (Chicago), and Kentucky. Each of these places has rather different gun laws. In Kentucky, for instance, a gun store owner or private seller can sell a gun of any kind to a toddler or anyone at all without any waiting period or background check of any kind. Literally anyone can go there and buy a gun. But they also don’t have a lot of gun violence in those states historically- because everyone knows everyone has a gun, so what’s the point? Unless one has a death wish already, they’ll stay away from those places.

But what about someone who wants to commit a mass shooting in a state bordering Kentucky where the laws ARE restrictive – like Chicago. If you’d asked Charlie Kirk, he said that that cost – of the occasional mass shooting – is worth the price of freedom to carry a gun and follow the Constitution. He had no concern for those lives that were lost. All of the gun owners in this film did have concern – but the question is what is the answer? Taking away gun owner’s rights because you want to make it harder for criminals to buy guns is a bit like chasing one’s tail. Criminals don’t follow the law anyway. They don’t buy guns through legitimate channels, and the Second Amendment is quite clear – it can’t be done at the federal level, or really at the state level either, depending on interpretation. At all.

Here is the text of the Second Amendment, in its brief entirety: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”

Then there were some statistics that were shared that make it clear that rules, laws, and regulations are not the answer to school shootings. When you see something like this, it’s good to stop, pull back, and look for other options. There are 400 million guns in the hands of American consumers at this point. That isn’t the guns in the shops; it’s the ones that have been sold. Full stop. That number is staggering. And it indicates that there is no way to get rid of guns, even if you wanted to, which I don’t think is the solution really anyway.

Some very good points were made during the film, including that many of the violent acts have been committed by desperate people. Are they seriously poor and saw no way out so they shot up a bank? I used to live in a neighborhood, on Staten Island, where the Dime Bank was robbed every week. Why Dime Bank? Easy. No bullet proof glass. Right in the face of the teller. This made it a super easy target, so criminals acted accordingly. Eventually the bank closed. But the stress of that environment and the times were not good. This wasn’t that long ago either.

But people who are law abiding citizens should be able to buy a gun if they want to, usually to defend their home or even their person. Let’s say they’re a cab driver. That’s always been one of the few jobs in NYC for which you could legitimately carry a gun and not get arrested if you used it when someone tried to rob your cab. Deli owners and various other small business owners are supposed to be able to get a gun license, though not all wish to.

But returning to the school shootings topic, the film was light on actual ideas for how to prevent them or mitigate them (i.e. make it so they cause less carnage), so I’ve made a short list, based on what I’ve seen, researched, and been told works and is effective to stop violence in kids and to prevent these shootings from happening by making the schools less easy targets:

#1: Security guards inside the front entrance of the school. Every New York City and most New Jersey schools have a security guard watching the front of the building. A lot of these people are retired police who enjoy helping their community by keeping kids safe. It does cost money though, so this is something the government would likely have to pay for through grants, etc., in towns with smaller budgets.

#2: In the event number 1 is impossible, schools could use gate locking intercom systems, such as those sold by Ritron. Every door would be locked after the bell has rung, and anyone seeking entrance must ring the bell and be buzzed in by a staff member such as a security guard, principal, or secretary.

#3: Addressing some root causes of violence by providing mentoring services to troubled youth. For those kids who have demonstrated problems with violence and self control, often having a mentor who they meet with frequently and who becomes, in a sense, their family member, goes a very long way in helping kids to break the cycle of violence. This is a very low cost program, and there are charities out there that connect kids with mentors. It’s not just a big city thing either. Mentors are usually business owners, and the kids they are helping come by their office to learn about the business and just benefit from a healthy environment for a little while. This really changes lives and has done so for many youth lucky enough to learn about it.

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#4 Active shooter drills: these are the new fire drills. They are practiced in New Jersey in the town of Mountainside and likely others. Students are shown what to do in that situation: where and how to hide, where to call for help (where the fire alarm is or how to reach the principal or police station from inside), how to help authorities find them once they’ve arrived, and other skills. Once or twice a year of practice would probably be sufficient, like fire drills are done. This helps students be less easy targets themselves on an individual basis.

#5: Arming and Training the Principal or others: This is the least popular option and my least preferred, but there are some principals out there that might prefer this tactic to others. They can be trained in the proper and accurate use of firearms, and in the event of an active shooting, they can prevent the gunman from causing damage. In states where guns are popular, this might work. Teachers and principals, though, are more likely to be peace makers and not want to confront a dangerous person.

If you enjoy country music, the band’s songs are woven throughout, particularly the title track, Louder Than Guns. The music was a nice touch and brought the film together quite well. Overall, it was a great learning experience, and one of the band members also expressed that the conversations had actually broadened his perspective on guns and gun regulations. He had likely been very anti-gun, but he began to realize that it isn’t guns that are the source of the problem.

It’s much deeper than that, and it’s a social issue. Maybe it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly it is, but poverty and inequality are a big part of it, and those aren’t problems that are likely to be solved anytime soon. Especially in light of recent very racist and classist Supreme Court decisions (the gutting of the Voting Rights Act as it pertains to race and the support of homeless people being fined hundreds of dollars for sleeping in the street – even in places where there are no shelters and there’s nowhere else for them to go. That’s just too bad in a compassionless society.)

This film was enjoyable and educational, and I would give it five stars.

A MUSIC FILM ABOUT FIREARM SAFETY IN AMERICA

Featuring & Executive Produced By

Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show)

& David Greene (NPR Morning Edition)

Directed by Doug Pray (Hype, Scratch, Art & Copy)

Releasing In Theaters This Friday

May 8th

In New York

Along with A Special Screening on May 11th

at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville

Featuring a pre-screening panel with Ketch Secor, Katy Dieckhaus (mother of Covenant student Evelyn Dieckhaus & Coordinator for Safer Tennessee) and Clay Stauffer (Woodmont Christian Church) moderated by Blake Farmer (host of Nashville Public Radio’s “This is Nashville”)

Directed by:

Doug Pray (Hype, Scratch, Art & Copy)

Featuring:

David Greene  (former NPR Morning Edition host)

Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show)

Edited by: Doug Pray

Produced by: Stephanie Meurer, Ashley York, Doug Pray

Executive Produced by: Ketch Secor, David Greene, Foster Phillips

LOUDER THAN GUNS is a journey through rural, urban, and suburban America that humanizes all sides of this country’s polarized gun debate through the power of music, civil discourse, and unexpected common ground.  The film tackles the extremely complicated and sensitive subject of gun violence which has become politically divisive in an open and all encompassing approach, inviting people from all aspects of the country to join in a conversation and speak their peace.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKING TEAM

Ketch Secor (Writer, Executive Producer & Featured)

Ketch Secor is a musician, storyteller, and cultural ambassador best known as the founder and frontman of Old Crow Medicine Show, the two-time GRAMMY Award–winning band and Grand Ole Opry members whose influence has helped shape modern American roots music.

He co-wrote “Wagon Wheel” with Bob Dylan, a song that has become one of the most enduring in American music—achieving diamond certification with over 13 million units sold and reaching new audiences through Darius Rucker’s chart-topping version.

Beyond the stage, Secor’s work spans film, television, writing, and live performance. He currently serves as the host of Nashville PBS’s long-running series Tennessee Crossroads, where he explores the people, places, and culture that define the state. He was also an advisor, historical consultant, and featured participant in Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentary Country Music.

Secor’s creative work often centers on American history, identity, and shared experience. His recent projects—including documentary filmmaking, theatrical works, and published writing—reflect an ongoing exploration of the country’s past and present. His New York Times opinion piece, “Country Music Can Lead America Out of Its Obsession with Guns,” written in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting, helped inspire the documentary Louder Than Guns.

He is also a co-founder of the Episcopal School of Nashville and a father of two.

David Greene (Writer, Executive Producer & Featured)

David Greene has spent 25 years as a print then radio journalist, including stints covering the White House, serving as Moscow Bureau Chief for NPR, then hosting NPR’s Morning Edition, the most widely-heard radio news program in the US. He won numerous journalism awards including for his coverage of President Obama’s speech on race in America, his stories about state-sponsored violence against gay men in Russia and his reporting from Libya during the Arab Spring. David loves interviewing celebrities and presidents—but not as much as he loves telling the stories of real people who don’t get as much attention as they should. That’s why to truly understand Russia, he wrote a New York Times bestselling book about the Russian people, doing what he does best: Sitting in bars and living rooms, listening without judgment, seeking connection and learning lessons about how we can overcome what divides us.

Doug Pray (Director & Editor)

Doug Pray’s candid portraits of American subcultures and maverick individuals have led him to numerous festivals, critical raves, and awards. His feature documentary films include “Love, Lizzo” (HBO Max), “Big Rig” (a 21,000-mile road film about independent truck drivers), and the Emmy Award-winning “Art & Copy.” His first two films, “Hype!” the definitive story of the Seattle music scene, and “Scratch,” about DJs and the birth of hip-hop, are ranked among the best music docs of all time. In television, Doug executive produced Netflix’s 3-part series, “Arnold,” about Arnold Schwarzenegger; he won a Grammy for Best Music Film (plus 5 Emmy nominations) for his work as executive producer, writer and editor of HBO’s “The Defiant Ones.” He also executive produced “From Cradle to Stage” with Dave Grohl and the popular AppleTV+ series “Home.” Doug was born in Denver, raised in Wisconsin, and lives in Los Angeles.

WE’RE HAVING THE CONVERSATION…

In the wake of yet another horrific mass shooting, this time at The Covenant School in Nashville, Ketch Secor, lead singer of the popular country-bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show, decided it was time to speak out on gun reform. He felt compelled to write an op-ed in the New York Times entitled, “Country Music Can Lead America Out of Its Obsession with Guns.” It caught the attention of Ketch’s friend, public radio journalist David Greene, and the two set out to kickstart an open dialog about gun rights and gun violence in America.

Film director Doug Pray followed Ketch and David as the band toured rural and urban communities, creating the documentary “Louder Than Guns,” named after a song Ketch wrote for the victims of the Covenant shooting.

Known for their signature song “Wagon Wheel,” Old Crow Medicine Show attracts a wide demographic of music fans, stretching to the furthest ends of today’s culture wars. People in the front row of their concerts might not agree on anything besides the music they love, providing this film with one of modern America’s rarest opportunities: the chance to engage with one another respectfully, despite our differences.

“Louder Than Guns” brings together the frustrations and hopes of citizens who are asked to listen to one another and try to find common ground on this profoundly American issue. Led by Ketch and David, these emotional and inspiring discussions, in barbeque joints, barbershops, church pews, gun stores, and concert halls, prove that localized, community-led discourse has the power to move the needle on gun reform in ways that today’s polarized media and politicians rarely achieve.

Because most people in this country—gun owners and non-gun owners alike—want safer communities.

Banner Image: Film poster. Image Credit – Falco Ink