Arms Around America and gun rights

The issue
Living in America has its pros and cons. One pro is our Bill of Rights, which acknowledges well-known rights as humans and as American citizens. The con is how people can twist and manipulate the Bill of Rights to fit their needs.
Over many years, citizens have been divided over the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms. This amendment allows citizens to own and carry weapons legally, dependent on state laws. But with the increase in gun violence and mass shootings, opponents want to do away with this amendment or at least limit it.
At the current moment, America has more than 82 million legal gun owners, with 31 states having an open carry policy, while 15 states require a permit to carry. States like California, New York, and New Jersey, among others, have strict gun laws that make it nearly impossible to own one.
Coincidently states with the most restrictive gun laws have 53 percent higher crime rates than the national average. On the other hand, 55 percent of states with a violent crime rate below the national average have permitless carry. Between 60,000 and 2.5 million Americans use firearms for self-defense each year, while 40 percent of criminals convicted of crimes while in possession of a gun were already prohibited from carrying.
The company
Arms Around America is creating a space for people on both sides to come together and hear both sides of the argument from a third-person perspective. Dan Froot, the creator and producer, started this organization as a social justice warrior to create a platform for people to meet at the middle of their differences. “They’re born from real interviews that Dan does with the people he meets from all walks of life, all races in different parts of America. That’s the foundation of our storylines,” said Justin Alston, one of the voices of the podcast and actor on the live show.
Arms Around America is an ensemble of voice actors and theater actors conducting book-length oral histories of families whose lives have been shaped by guns in South Florida, Montana, and Southern California.
Alston voiced one of the young men on the second episode of the AAA podcast, which centers around two brothers living in Miami. “Those were men of color, and because the messaging that men of color are violent, hood, and all that stuff, I was adamant about the humanity, and so that’s why that scene is important to me,” Alston said in describing the conversation the brothers were having about guns and needing one to survive their environment. “They were talking about their lives. They were talking about a gun in the room. I wanted to focus on the relationship between the brothers and their humanity. I was like, I want whoever listens to this, or if we perform it, who sees it, to see these people for who they are and be able to relate.”
According to Pew Research, 38 percent of White Americans own a gun, compared to smaller shares of Blacks (24 percent), Hispanics (20 percent), and Asians (10 percent). About 72 percent of gun owners say protection is a reason they own a gun. A majority of Americans (61 percent) say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in this country, according to the June 2023 survey. Fewer (9 percent) say it is too hard, while another 30 percent say it’s appropriate. About 60 percent of U.S. adults favor stricter gun laws. Another 26 percent say that U.S. gun laws are about right, while 15 percent favor less strict gun laws.
The perspective
Donnie Johnson, a theater actor within the group, spoke about how the live show differs from the podcast. “I think, especially when it comes to stories like Rich and Dave, the audience must see the slice of life and the empathy and compassion in these men. But I also think it’s important for people to see it in themselves too, by either reflecting it on stage and saying, “oh, somebody hears me, sees me, or when I put that wall down, is that what I look like, what I feel like,” Johnson said, explaining the reaction they look for from the audience.
Johnson loves that while the ensemble is two different teams, they still look to each other for inspiration and help when doing their part. “Being received by the ensemble in such a vulnerable moment allowed me to stop, listen, and learn from people like Justin, who had been on the journey,” Johnson said about her integrating back on the team. ” I didn’t feel comfortable being in the podcast because I didn’t know those stories. To me, that was for the artists there. So, Justin is one of those people I just sat back, watched, and listened to. The art he brings is so rich, just like treasures, so it’s exciting to be in the room with all of these different art makers who bring up all this new, fresh stuff.”
Jonhson worked with Dan on PANG, the first show that Dan created, but took a hiatus to work on other projects. “The new setup that Dan brought together for the team was hard for me at first, to be honest, because PANG was just such a different and intimate process. There were just three of us, and we would be in a room with hundreds of pages. But this new format was the opposite of what I was using too.”
When asked about the feedback they want from the audience to take away from the podcast and the shows, they both agreed to an open-minded experience. ” I would say to them to come open to a new experience and perspective on the topic,” Johnson said. ” While the actors are taking a neutral stance on stage, I think it would be hard for anybody to apply that mentality to harm or pain or violence or abuse or sacrifice or murder or injustice, or police violence.”
Alston seconded that notion as he agreed with Johnson. “I’ll never forget when I realized what the power of this work can do because so many people in that space had differing views, but they were able to discuss.” Alston continued that while everybody looks different in the audience, they share a commonality. ” Most people in the audience have some level of experience with gun violence, and we want to tell both sides and hopefully help people understand a different perspective than their own. There will be moments where you’ll be watching the scene and the feelings you will identify with, while other times you might be seeing the feelings reflected by somebody else with a different experience.”
Arms Around America starts its nationwide tour on Aug. 26 in San Diego. You can learn more about the program, the tour, and the artist by visiting www.danfroot.com/arms-around-america.
DF&Co feels that guns are a major issue in our country and that lives depend on learning to listen to each other’s experiences and perspectives. By opening a window into families’ lives, DF&CO explores diverse perspectives and fosters dialogue around the complex roles that guns play in our society. They hope this project can help Americans learn how to talk to each other about gun-related issues.