The OzSpeaks panel on gun control, held at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Marano Campus Center auditorium, started with the goal to use information to fuel meaningful conversation among students.

The result was often described as a “passionate” display of the multiple sides to the issue and the factors that have led to the current debate being so polarized.

The event brought together five panelists: Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America; Katherine Wolfe-Lyga, director of the Counseling Services Center on campus; Gary Pudup, regional coordinator of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence; John Rossi, chief of University Police at Oswego State; and Jaclyn Schildkraut, assistant professor of public justice at Oswego State.

Dan Roberts, associate dean of students, said he and the rest of the OzSpeaks planning committee wanted the focus of the event to be on informed discussion to give students resources on which to form their own opinions.

“This is a really, really passionate topic that people take personally as well as politically,” Roberts said. “It’s really, really important for students to see that passion on display but also hear a lot of the discourse behind it as well.”

The panel was planned over a semester in advance, well before recent mass school shootings. Roberts said the topic of gun control is one that will always be relevant.

“These aren’t just hot-button issues; they’re civic issues,” Roberts said. “They’re issues that impact our society and our government and our democracy.”

Questions discussed by the panel largely surrounded issues of policy, guns in schools, racial inequality, background checks and mental illness.

Schildkraut, who acted as moderator for the event, echoed the importance of objective information in an issue often marked by opinion.

“Basing opinions on fact is much more important than basing it on emotions,” Schildkraut said.

Pudup, who has had over 30 years in law enforcement experience, said although he comes from a pro-gun control argument, he encourages students to do their own research and remain skeptical.

“Do not take anything I say at face value,” Pudup said to the audience. “Let your opinions be subject to confirmation and not the other way around.”

Pratt, a leader in a national pro-gun rights group, said he comes from tragedy and grieves for the victims in shootings like Florida, but his solution is not to restrict gun access.

“You cannot pass a gun control law that a criminal won’t be able to get around,” Pratt said.

“Ultimately, it’s the heart of the individual where the problem is.”

Wolfe-Lyga, a licensed mental health counselor, said a large factor when it comes to discussing policies is the misconception surrounding mental illness and violence.

“At what point do we really want to be discriminating against people with mental disorders?” Wolfe-Lyga said. “People are deterred from using services when we scapegoat mental illness as a cause.”

Rossi said his experience as a law enforcement officer on campus has shown him the difficulty of trying to protect students and others in the event of a possible emergency.

“We see a threat, there is no warning that needs to be given, and it’s very hard to differentiate between a good guy with a gun and a bad guy with a gun,” Rossi said.

The questions and comments portion of the event featured mostly stories from students and community members on how their experience with firearms has impacted their viewpoints on the issue.

Michael Gambro, a senior and technology education major, asked the panelists to define what “secure” means to them and if military or firearm technology makes society safer.

  “I don’t think my question was completely fulfilled,” Gambro said. “I don’t think it ever will be because I don’t think there is a definitive answer.”

Andrew Gerena, a junior and business administration major, spoke about his experience of a gun being pulled on him when he was in New York City despite recent gun control measures passed in the state.

“I felt that the panel had horse blinders as far as what the panelists can talk about, but as we saw here today, they kind of bled outside the lines a bit,” Gerena said.

Roberts said he hopes this event will encourage students to continue the conversation in their daily lives.

“We tend to go our own silos on this particular issues a lot of times,” Roberts said. “In events like this, we want to force people to continue the conversation, not retreat to places that help us confirm what we like.”

Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian