Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Turning Points: A Local Eugene Man Discusses His Mission to Stop Gun Violence

I was recently interviewed by University of Oregon Journalism student Olivia Brand.  Olivia had an assignment to pick a topic of public impact and interview people related to it, and chose Gun Control as her topic.  I applaud her taking on such an important and sometimes divisive topic. 

We met at the university library for the interview, then had a short photo shoot at the location of where a rally would be staged the following weekend (so, unfortunately, there weren't any people at the plaza during the photo shoot, though I was able to display some signs to passing traffic and talk to a few people walking by).

You can read the interview and see the photos, HERE.  There are also links there to her interaction with the pro-gun community.

Here is an excerpt from her write-up and blog post:

Although Odinson volunteered for other community programs, it was not until his first child was born that he became active with gun regulation organizations. Odinson wants no child to Badlr Odinson explains Ceasefire to a curious man. be exposed to the gun violence that he saw as a teenager. He now works to stop gun violence because he, “…want[s] a better world for my kids, than the one I grew up in.” Through his volunteering, Odinson leads marches, conducts vigils, and blogs in order to make people aware of the issues of gun violence.  His motivation to stop gun violence stems from his experiences and his feeling that, “… pro gun activists tend to think of guns as often as a symbol of justice, […] protecting the American way, but it ceases to become that when you’re at the wrong end of the barrel and you’re holding a dead teen’s head in your arms, and it becomes exactly what it [a gun] was designed to be, a lethal weapon, that unfortunately once again wound up in the wrong hands.”

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