How Louder Than Guns brings people with different views together to talk about gun violence

# Overview

Louder Than Guns is a documentary built around face-to-face conversations about guns. It grew out of a response by musician Ketch Secor to the March 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville. Secor and journalist David Greene wanted to see whether music—and the shared space it can create—could bring people who seldom meet into honest conversations.

# How the film was made

Secor's premise was that music gathers people who normally wouldn't interact. Greene and the production team used that idea to create a context where attendees had a reason to show up and a shared experience to anchor conversation.

# What stands out in the conversations

The film emphasizes careful conversation design. Greene says the work to avoid pushing people away is real, because certain ways of framing questions can immediately shut down participants—especially when gun culture is deeply tied to identity in some communities.

One on-screen example is Melissa Alexander, a Republican gun owner and a parent whose son survived the Covenant School shooting. Greene describes an event in Los Angeles where a question framed as a comparison to Europe risked alienating parts of the audience. Filmmakers and facilitators aim to keep connection and avoid language that makes participants feel judged, so people stay engaged and meaningful progress can be considered.

# Screening and next steps

The film screened at Speed Cinema (the LPM report notes a Thursday night showing at 7 p.m.). Greene called the documentary a starting point, not a solution. The team is developing an impact campaign slated for 2027 with Impact Media Partners.

That campaign will produce materials and strategies for use in high schools, middle schools, universities, and community groups. The approach is intentionally flexible: the materials are meant to be tools communities can use to start conversations—screen the full film, show clips, and adapt—rather than a prescriptive program telling communities what to do.

# Why this matters for communities

# Practical implications

• Screening with context: Show the whole film or curated clips and provide trained moderators to guide discussion.
• Invite diverse participants: Include a mix of gun owners, local hunting or sportsmen leaders, and advocates so conversations reflect community realities.
• Use flexible materials: Adopt the planned 2027 impact resources as adaptable tools rather than mandates.

Louder Than Guns is positioned as a practical tool to get conversations started in places where they rarely happen, paired with an outreach effort to put those tools into schools and community spaces.