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How can gun violence in America be reduced? A former gun industry executive shares his candid thoughts.

The recent mass shootings in Sacramento, California that left 6 people dead and 12 injured have renewed the calls for action on gun control. In our forthcoming podcast, we hear a unique perspective on the raging debate with a former gun industry executive who says the NRA and its supporters have gone too far.

Our guest, Ryan Busse grew up around guns — hunting and shooting with his father and pursuing a career working for a gun manufacturer. Today he is still a proud gun owner, hunter and an avid outdoorsman, who lives in Montana. But Busse argues that his industry radicalized large numbers of Americans and says it must change before gun violence can be reduced and our nation can heal.

After a successful 30-year career, he retired from the gun manufacturer he helped to build and wrote Gunfight, a book that tells the inside story of a little-known industry. In this episode of Let’s Find Common Ground, we learn about Busse’s lifelong love of guns and discuss his take on the responsibilities gun owners and manufacturers need to accept.

Read the Episode Transcript

Ep 55 – Guns: Ryan Busse Loves Them But Sees The Need For Limits On How They’re Used and Sold

Ryan Busse

Ryan Busse is an author and former firearms executive who spent many years in the industry and was nominated multiple times by industry colleagues for the Shooting Industry Person of The Year Award.

As Ryan’s career progressed, he became increasingly concerned by what he calls “troubling NRA extremism” that he believed was radicalizing millions of Americans. He spent nearly two decades finding ways to fight back from the inside and left the gun industry in 2020. His book, Gunfight, was published in October 2021.

Busse is also an environmental advocate who served in many leadership roles for conservation organizations including as an advisor to the U.S. Senate Sportsmen’s Caucus and the Biden Presidential campaign. He remains a proud outdoorsman, gun owner, father, and resident of Montana.

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