Following President Barack Obama’s executive order addressing gun violence and regulations, the Oakland Voices correspondents wrote about their experiences with guns and their thoughts about government efforts to curb gun violence. Probably reflecting much of Oakland, the experiences are more varied than you might expect, from memories of a father’s pearl-handled gun, to military experiences with firearms to a recent terrifying encounter with armed robbers. Read their stories below.
About Brenda Payton
Brenda Payton has been a journalist for 40 years. She was a columnist at the Oakland Tribune
for 26 years. She contributed to KQED radio’s Perspective series for 20 years. She was a co
-producer of
“Your Loan Is Denied,” a documentary about lending discrimination that aired on PBS’ Frontline. She
was a reporter at the San Francisco Examiner, the Boston Phoenix and the New Bedford Standard Times. She was a lecturer at San Francisco State University, teaching newswriting, reporting and feature writing.