Experts discuss combating gun violence across partisan lines

SALT LAKE CITY — Today experts from around the country and Utah came together with everyday people to try to find solutions to gun violence. The panel, held at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Institute, also discussed the partisan divide between gun rights and gun control.

The Deseret News and the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute invited a panel of nationwide gun experts to discuss potential solutions, which ranged from mental health to gun technology, to enhanced background checks.

A recent poll from the Deseret News and Harris X found both Republicans and Democrats agree that gun violence is a problem, but differ on how it’s caused and on any potential solutions.

People in attendance got to bounce ideas off of people like Rep. Blake Moore, former Utah House member Becky Edwards and Salt Lake City Chief of Police Mike Brown.

Other panel members came from all over the country from places like Berry College, the Heritage Foundation, Wake Forest University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Florida State University. 

One thought from Florida State University Professor Gary Kleck was “If you want to have an effect on mass shootings, it’s likely to be because you’ve had some measure that affects all kinds of potentially violent people.”

Heading into the event, organizers said they hoped to “bring together different sides on how we can move forward on gun rights and gun control.”

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