{"id":3897,"date":"2024-04-22T15:37:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T15:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/?p=3897"},"modified":"2024-09-28T02:32:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T02:32:54","slug":"this-was-fantastic-nearly-170-attend-dci-guns-in-america-deliberative-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/blogposts\/this-was-fantastic-nearly-170-attend-dci-guns-in-america-deliberative-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"“This was Fantastic:” Nearly 170 Attend DCI Guns in America Deliberative Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“I’m so very grateful for Davidson’s DCI initiative that provides a thoughtful, meaningful, and challenging (in all the good ways a functioning democracy requires that) opportunity to engage with fellow citizens.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DCI Guns in America Deliberative Forum Participant<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, April 2, nearly 170 people \u2013 94 online on Zoom and 69 in-person at Davidson College\u2019s Lilly Family Gallery (a record number for a DCI Forum) \u2013 gathered to deliberate about one of the most contentious and challenging topics in American politics, and they did so authentically, respectfully, and thoughtfully. The topic \u2013 Guns in America: How Should We Balance Concerns about Gun Rights and Gun Risks?<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 was first discussed by a panel of experts and advocates who came from a wide range of backgrounds and expressed a wide range of perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They included Shannon Klug, a Former Air Force Colonel who has worked with Moms Demand Action, Be SMART, and Everytown\u2019s Veterans Advisory Council), Philip Smith, the President of the National African Americans Gun Association, Ray Nothstine, a former Second Amendment Research Fellow at the John Locke Foundation, and Dominic Erdozain, a Research Fellow at Emory University and author of One Nation Under Guns: How Gun Culture Distorts our History and Threatens our Democracy.<\/em> Their discussion was moderated by Dan Aldridge, Professor of History, Chair of Africana Studies, and a former DCI Deliberative Pedagogy (DeeP) Faculty Fellow, while Graham Bullock, Faculty Director of the DCI and Associate Professor of Political Science, served as the event’s MC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Left: Ray Nothstine, Philip Smith, Shannon Klug, Dominic Erdozain, Dan Aldridge, and Graham Bullock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 The event was co-sponsored by Davidson College\u2019s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative, Center for Political Engagement, College Democrats, College Libertarians, College Republicans, and Political Science Department. Representatives from each of the student political organizations asked questions of the panelists during the event, building on Dr. Aldridge\u2019s facilitation of the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of being lined up in a row of chairs, the panelists were seated around a roundtable on a stage, which enabled them to talk to each other more easily. A 360 degree video camera (a \u201cMeeting Owl\u201d) was placed in the center of the table, which enabled the conversation to be streamed live to participants who joined over Zoom. The video stream, which is available to view below, was also projected on a screen behind the panelists so people attending in-person could see who was speaking in case their direct view was blocked. This was the first time the DCI used this format, and it was widely praised as a helpful and engaging innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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