Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine interviewed for 30 minute PBS documentary "Guns N' Pubs"

Watch the full episode. See more Western Reserve Public Media Specials.

A related blog post from reporter Jody Miller, who decided to obtain her CHL in preparation for this show, is available here.

From the article:

Couple of random thoughts from me at this point:

• I am much more open-minded about people who "carry" than I ever was before. It was a learning process for me, and I am much more comfortable after meeting and working with "gun people." They are not, as I tended to collectively stereotype them and as Ted Osborne says in the program, "Rebel-flag waving hillbillies"; they cherish the right to own and carry a gun, and the people I met would never jeopardize that right by breaking the law.

.....

• This was an extraordinary opportunity for me to explore, as a journalist, something I never wanted to do. Like I said, I am more open-minded than before about guns and carrying them, and I respect the right of those who carry, for whatever reason, as long as they do so legally.

That said, the bottom line for me remains that I wish there were no guns anywhere in our society except for sport shooting and the personal challenge of getting better at the range. I am a pacifist at heart and guns scare me. I just do not believe that anything is ever solved with a gun, which is too often turned on people in anger and hatred and frustration and cruelty. But it's not the guns, it's the human pulling the trigger. As Sheriff McClelland said (and it didn't make the program, darn) "I'm pretty sure that is nobody messes with it, it won"t go off!"