Lost In The Gun Control Debate... Control.

By means of full disclosure, I have to state that I am trained in the use of firearms. I’ve used everything from .45 caliber pistols, automatic weapons like the M-16, M-60 and others in between. I’ve also taken the time to get a Concealed Carry Permit. I don’t like guns, but I do respect them.

While I have a great deal of respect for the majority of gun owners, there are some that just don’t get it. These are the ones that use the 2nd Amendment in some sick and twisted context and are stupid enough to think that they can hoard enough firepower to actually take on the Government.

Throughout this whole debate, I haven’t been able to shake the image of 20 little kids being slaughtered. I also haven’t been able to shake my own experience with gun violence. Being caught in the crossfire of someone who could care less about human life, much less his own, shapes your perspective in a way that you never fully realize until something like the Sandy Hook Massacre happens.

It’s safe to say that, other than the military and law enforcement, a majority of gun owners have never had to fire their weapon at anyone. They’ve probably never seen the results of someone being shot either. The sight of a human lying on the ground with blood flowing like lava leaves you shaken to your very core. No amount of movie or video game violence can even come close, and yes, they are a part of the problem. Our kids are becoming desensitized to the kind of violence at Sandy Hook and parents along with the entertainment industry must be held accountable.

People, for the most part, are in favor of some measure of gun control. Mandatory background checks for every weapon purchase, closing the loophole for gun shows and private sales, mental health screenings, a limit to the size of magazines and a return to the 1994 assault weapons ban all make sense in limiting the access to weapons that are only designed to one thing... KILL.

I would require that all weapons to be registered and fitted with a GPS microchip. They would then be entered into a national database which would be able to track them should be stolen since a majority of so - called “illegal” guns are stolen from “legal” gun owners. Mandatory testing would be required every 6 months and owners would have to qualify to keep their weapons. Trigger guards and Safety classes would also be mandatory and would be subject to periodic testing. The bottom line being that greater responsibility must be placed on the part of the gun owner.

Some would say “You’re just punishing law - abiding citizens”. Gun owners are putting the rest of us at risk. “Criminals don’t care about gun laws”. No they don’t. However, if this society is to finally get serious about gun crime, much harsher penalties would be handed out for possession of unregistered weapons and mandatory life or death sentences for crimes in which a gun was used.

Legal gun owners must face sanctions for their carelessness as well. Had Adam Lanza’s mother been more responsible in the way she locked up her firearms, he wouldn’t have had access and Sandy Hook might not have happened. You are more likely to get shot by someone in your own home or due to a gun owner’s negligence than you would by a criminal. Just this past week, there were 6 accidental shooting incidents at gun shows throughout the country.

There are RABID gun owners that somehow see gun control as “taking my guns away”. They also see the 2nd Amendment as a means to having unfettered access to any kind of weapon made. Somehow, they miss the fact that you can’t legally own a rocket launcher. They also ignore the fact that the Supreme Court has stated that there are limitations to the Amendment. They rant and rave like spoiled little brats when you press them on the need for military style - assault weapons. It’s these people that scare me and enforce the need for mandatory mental health screenings.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the NRA and politicians who’ve prostituted themselves for them are playing paranoid gun owners like chumps. Runs on guns and ammo have them laughing all the way to the bank while we continue to pay the price in blood.

You know what the bitter irony of all this is ? If “We The People” don’t get our act together when it comes to guns, that “big, bad, tyrannical, Communist, Socialist” President and the Government that these deluded paranoids swear is out to get them just might be forced into existence. Then what ? How will your weapons and serious lack of skill fare against those black helicopters you keep imagining ?  Some would say “There’s no way the military would fire upon American citizens.” Are you willing to take that chance ?

In order to stem the tide of gun violence, it’s going to take a collection of initiatives and more importantly, people of good will and courage to carry them out. Those that do not own guns far outnumber those that do. The majority of gun owners are reasonable and see the need to finally tackle this problem. Ask yourself, what’s more important. Is it the life of an innocent child or the need for some yahoo to carry an assault weapon because he’s overcompensating for some other shortcomings ?

Who I Am And How Mark Gunn Media Came To Be.

"Birth Of A Writer" Or "Are You Crazy ? You Can't Print That !"

"I'm not exactly sure when my passion for writing really began." Mark says. "I feel like it's something I've always done." To a degree, he has. Before getting into radio, he was the lead singer of a cover band in Columbus, Georgia called "Cargo". 

It was toward the end of the band's run that Mark began writing as a lyricist. "Guitarist, Donald Johnson and I were putting songs together for a very rough demo." He recalls. "Don had a few songs that he had rough drafts for and I started writing words and melodies for them." They actually managed to get a few of them recorded, but as Mark laughingly admits, "While they were actually pretty good songs, I wouldn't want anyone to hear them today."

He also credits his career in radio for giving him his second push to put pen to paper. "I remember writing all kinds of commercials and promos and never giving thought that I was actually WRITING anything. It was about trying to be creative and getting the job done."

If Mark had to pinpoint the one "A-HA moment" that put him on the path to doing editorials, it would be a lecture he was giving at UCLA in the early 90's. "I was working for what was KACE - FM at the time and was responsible for starting a movement that saw us eliminating a lot negative music from our radio station." The move generated national and international press coverage. "That's how I ended up doing the lecture" Mark recalls.

The professor approached him afterwards and encouraged him to write a book because in his words, "...you would write like you speak." Mark says "I took those words to heart and they're with me every time I touch a keyboard."

In addition to the writing he's already done, he's in the middle of completing his first novel. "It's an autobiographical piece about my very unusual upbringing and my the ride through my career." It's called "Everything I Know About Radio I Learned In Kindergarten" and he hopes to have it finished by the third quarter of this year.

Mark Gunn Media Sports Montage

If you have an athlete in your family, putting together a Highlight Reel

is a great way to remember every spectacular play

and it's also great to submit to perspective colleges.

Mark Gunn Media

No Hype ! No Hoopla ! Just Damn Good Work !

Mark Gunn Media Wedding Montage

Getting Married ? 

Mark Gunn Media 

"No Hype ! No Hoopla ! Just Damn Good Work !"

Seasons Change

"Season's Change"

We all experience major changes in our lives. Some of them good. Some bad. No matter what, they are changes that must happen. 

After 35 years of being blessed enough to be in a business that I've loved since the beginning, the time for change has come.

As of this week, Mainline Broadcasting and I have ended our wonderful relationship and with that, I close this chapter of my life. 

I want everyone to know that I am fine with the decision and have no ill feelings or anger toward "MLB". It is a truly wonderful company and one of the best I've ever worked for.

I give many thanks to the staff and management there because they've given me the chance to do things in my career that I thought I never would do. I've worked with and groomed some of the best and brightest talent in this industry and I take great pride in their success. 

I've been "adopted" by a family in the truest sense of the word. They've shared in my triumphs and my tragedies. They've applauded my strengths and helped with my weaknesses and most importantly, they believed in my talent and shared in my drive for success and because of all of that and so much more, I leave with no regrets.

Over the last year or so, I've had to really evaluate where I was in my life and I knew in my mind that I wouldn't be doing radio much longer. I think the decision had been made somewhat when I made it known that I wouldn't be applying for the Program Director's position now held by Phillip David March. I'm tremendously thrilled that he's back in the game because the knowledge he brings to a young staff is beyond measure. He's already made a major impact and he's not done yet.

I saw the staff getting younger with a new energy that was sorely needed. I'm blessed to have been a part of that energy, but something was missing. I can admit that part of it was ego - driven. When I was moved to Magic 101.3, I embraced the challenge of trying to take the station to the next level. Although we made strides in the ratings, it wasn't enough for me. I was used to winning as I'd done on B-96.5 and I tended to beat myself up when I didn't see the kinds of results I wanted. I also missed being in a position with a higher profile. I internalized these things more and more and I knew for sure that it would be time for me to leave at some point.

I feel that I must come to the defense of "MLB", because the few people I've told beforehand had very strong reactions to the news. To them and to you I say "there are no bad guys, so don't it twisted". Continue to support my family at Mainline as you always have. They are a very solid company and they get results for anyone they do business with.

Over the last few days, people have been running with a consistent theme. "This is but a season and seasons change". My baby sister, Tonya, put it in a Facebook post. My mother, Barbara, made sure I knew it as well.

I'm very excited about the things that are already happening and the shape of things to come. I'm concentrating more on my family and building my own business, Mark Gunn Media. I'm looking forward to growing a list of clients that have trusted my work in the past, and new ones that will soon discover just how special this company will be.

There are pending opportunities that will, as my wife Tracey says, "will put you exactly where you need to be" and in her opinion, put me in a position to do what I was born to do. More on that as the situation develops.

By no means is this a "goodbye" to Louisville. You'll have to put up with me for a while longer. For me, it's business as usual. I'll still fight the good fight with "Connected Voices". I'll still use my voice to do the most good where I can. Don't be surprised if you see me pop up with an occasional television appearance either. 

So, as this season changes for me, there have been so many people in so many places that have helped me along my 35 year journey. General Managers, Program Directors, Air Talent, Sales and Promotions people and most of all, anyone and everyone that I've been privileged enough to come through your radio speakers, THANK YOU !

...And to my first love, we've been through a whole lot together and you'll always be in my heart. 

Thank you... RADIO.

Mark Gunn
Owner - Mark Gunn Media.

September 11 th, Ten Years Later

 I was on my way to work when the first plane hit. I stopped by mt credit union to make a deposit while in Cincinnati. The security guard got an alert over his pager that a plane crashed into the WTC. 


I got in my car to make the 100 mile trip to Louisville and listened to coverage all the way down. Howard Stern was on and I could feel his anger and remember at that moment how much respect I gained for him as a broadcaster on that day. 


I made phone calls trying to figure out what to do. Once I got in, I stopped the music and went with a network feed for most of that day. When it was time to drive back to Cincinnati, I listened to more coverage and I remember not sleeping that night. 


My ex - wife and I watched the coverage on tv, barely saying anything. My son, William was 2 at the time and I remember thinking how lucky he was not to be affected by all of this. 


We did some form of coverage for almost two weeks. We didn't stop the music per se', but we did go from being the "good times hip - Hop" station to being conduits of information for those who wanted to help but didn't know how. 


One of the hardest things about being in the media at times like this is having to put on a brave face for your audience and I addressed that on the air. I remember saying something to the effect of even though we're passing on all this information, we were feeling what everyone else felt. We just couldn't take the time to give in to those emotions. 


Things came to a point to where we could get back to a sense of normalcy and I remember telling my audience that I was going home, hugging my wife and kids and then going off to a corner by myself and allowing myself, finally, to have a good cry.

Mark Gunn Talks With D.L. Hughley

I had a conversation with Actor/Comedian D.L. Hughley about President Obama's State Of The Union Address, Former RNC Chairman, Micheal Steele and the state of politics in this country today.



 

Lady T - R.I.P.

A couple of hours ago, the world learned of the passing of singer and songwriter, Teena Marie. She was often called "Vanilla Child", "Lady - T" and "One Of Us".

Every fan knows about the awards and the hits. Every fan knows about the love the Black Community has always had for her from day one and the love she constantly gave back. They also know about her relationship with the legendary Rick James.

She often spoke about her being White not being a factor when it came to expressing herself musically. She was a brash, funky, soulful rocker chick whose prowess with a guitar was often underrated...until you saw her LIVE !

Not everyone knows about the beautiful spirit that lived within her, even in the hardest times of her life. I had the honor of meeting her in the early 90's when she staged a major comeback. She'd given birth to two babies; her daughter and her record label, Sarai Records. Lady T was just as gracious and warm as the reputation that preceeded her.

She was excited and filled with the energy of promise, the kind of energy a musician feels when they've they've broken personal ground. The meeting was way too brief and the conversation could've gone on forever. There was quite a bit I could've learned at her feet, given the opportunity. As a musician and a woman, she had my utmost respect.

I hadn't seen Teena since that day in Los Angeles until July of this year at the Macy's Music Festival. She stole the show that night and performed with the same energy of promise that I felt from her all those years ago. The love we gave her was still there and she gave it back in abundance. Who knew that it would be the last time I'd ever see her ? I'm just glad that I did.

I'm honored to have been blessed with her energy, even if it was only for a little while. Those of you that loved her music will miss her and those of us that worked with her and got a chance to know her will miss her much more !!

Blessed Be Lady T !

What I'm Thankful For

We're all thankful for the family and friends that love us and keep us sane (most of the time) We're also thankful for those that serve in our Armed Forces in order to preserve that sanity (or insanity at times). I'm thankful for the chance to peel ten pounds of potatoes  with Tracey while watching a TV show about women that kill. I think about my family members in the military that may well be holding an automatic rifle right now. They're protecting my ability to peel those damned potatoes and to watch that damned show that causes me to look at Tracey kind of sideways.

I'm also thankful for this website and Skype because it gives me the ability to stay in touch with my geographically and sometimes mentally scattered (joke) family. We can keep up with everything from the mundane to the most significant events of our lives and through our postings, see sides of our personalities that we didn't see while growing up.

Finally, I'm thankful for the ability to see America FINALLY reveal her true colors. Some of them aren't very pretty and for the last two years, her ugliest side has surely been on display. Everything from Tea Party protests to racist death threats, America has been forced into conversations she's never felt comfortable about having before. I LOVE that !

I'm thankful for the wealth of information available to anyone as long as they simply go and look for it. It's that information that's allowed me to have intelligent and sometimes, fiery debates.  Note to self: We have a LOT of mindless sheep that are railing against their own best interests. We also have a lot of mindless sheep that just don't give a damn. That apathy is also against their best interests. 

America is  just as dysfunctional as any family, yet has the hope to restore some sense of sanity, provided we get rid of the nuts that want to run the asylum (read Mitch McConnell & The GOP) So while they want to whine about tax breaks for the wealthiest of Americans, all the while continuing to sell the lie that trickle down economics creates jobs, I continue to be thankful to have the ability to be one of many voices hell bent on exposing those lies in whatever way I can.

While you enjoy this holiday with your family and before you bless your meal, please think about the millions of fellow Americans that won't have that opportunity through no fault of their own and think about those fellow Americans that volunteer their time in order to ensure that at least, some do.

GOD BLESS AMERICA !! Happy Thanksgiving.