Table 2 Representative quotes by themes
Messenger needs to be relatable | Original Materials “It kind of felt like you were being lectured to—almost like fussed at.” “I think we should also have videos with women teaching so that there is not this stereotype or understanding that it is all men that are gun owners.” “You might need three different people…a Cajun guy for South Louisiana, somebody with a New Orleans accent for Southeast, and then a redneck for North Louisiana.” “bringing in other people like not only having him alone” “without sounding expert-ish and just kind of meeting people where they are? They tend to be more relatable…I can be an expert, but I also have to kind of know my audience.” “Somebody who’s very passionate…about the subject or have had close relations to an event like this would really bring in I think that charisma.” |
Adapted Materials “I liked how the group was not just Jim and Roy in the corner talking but was both men and women. That was well done because I think veterans are a diverse group of people.” “They felt like they were talking more to you and not at you.” “I felt like a connection with them…these are real people. This is real life…I actually feel what they are saying.” “It started off robotic, but that’s because they are real people…Even though that’s a critique, it’s important to leave that in there because you can tell they aren’t actors.” “They certainly sounded more local.” “He had the semicolon tattooed on his inner arm. That signifies he has survived an attempt, and it was good that they cut into that to where you could see it.” “That is a relatable story. I can assure you it has happened tons and tons of times in reality. I would not change it a bit.” | |
Message needs to align with firearm owner values | Original Materials “We had a family that needed to remove their firearms…we stored it for them until they felt like he was better…that was just because they felt like we were trustworthy. We were honest. We weren’t going to spread their information. We were there to help.” “two things that stood out on my end was the responsibility being on the family and the friends, and the community.” “everybody has a…clear cut line and personal sense of freedom. And the guy kind of wrapped it up at the end saying… ‘We can do this together and without government mandates’.” “makes you as a gun owner who’s sitting through a class like that feel somewhat responsible, meaning you may want to be conscious and aware of what, you know, people who are around you are going through…it’s not just about self-defense or protection when it comes to firearms.” |
Adapted Materials “I’m kind of deep in the gun nerd stuff. So, I kind of brush elbows with people that are not going to listen to anything you say the minute they feel like one, you don’t know anything about firearms or two, that it’s pushing you toward the all-feared gun control point. I think, one, showing these people shooting and using real hardware actually a nice point that might grab some of those people and say, okay, maybe this is not made by people that have no idea what they’re talking about. Two, there was a line… ‘we can do this without government mandates’. I think for a lot of people in the gun community…that’s a big thing.” “…that little bit of message there at the end about doing it ourselves rather than being government mandated, I think that is also an important message…This is one fight we can all get behind. We can all agree on. We can all work together to help support.” | |
Desire for more | Original Materials “maybe add the different…security methods.” “I think with the mental health it has to be broken up a little bit, or scenarios have to be given…there also needs to be examples of a crisis.” “breaking it off into different sections…a section for dealing with mental health…a section for dealing with communication…how to safely take something from someone, or to safely call.” “say I have identified that my neighbor possibly may be suicidal. How do I approach them? How do I start the conversation about holding their guns? How, you know, do I not trigger them into doing something even worse?…How do I start up this conversation and lead it in a good direction, that way I’m more helpful than I am harmful? “…you could break it down a little bit further with adults and teenagers and children…” |
Adapted Materials “If there was a way like just clear contact information…if you really need to get out of the situation right now, call this number. Go to this place…try to make that information readily available for somebody who at a time of crisis might just have the one second of seeing it.” “I think that there should be a list of sayings of like how one can ask a friend to or a loved one to hold their firearms. Or how, if you know someone is at risk, how you can ask them without being judgmental…examples of things that you could say without disclosing too much personal information or without becoming judgmental.” “Toward the end of the video I think there should be kind of a little guide on how to interact…having a little slide where the location where someone could store—let us say if the person stays in the same household. Where is an alternative source where they could store it?” | |
Acceptability | Original Materials “I would probably use a more engaging video. And then, send home this PowerPoint more in a pamphlet version” “I wouldn’t be opposed to adding anything that would kind of join in the culture today…” “I think you guys can touch more people…by bringing this information to outreach program, and community safety watch meetings…not just bringing this to gun owners themselves, touching everybody that deals with suicide might actually be a lot more beneficial.” “I’m not sure that the firearm instructor level is the most effective arm to get this information out because I think especially in Louisiana…folks go to those because they have to…the entire time they just can’t wait to leave.” “PowerPoint seems to be the easiest to control and translate” “I think a little bit of both helps [PowerPoint and video]” |
Adapted Materials “I think this was an impressive video. You hit all of the points that the first group meeting discussed about what would improve upon the video that we saw produced in Utah.” “I want to say bravo. You guys did a great job. That is literally night and day from the last video.” “the statistics were great.” “I think it’s important that you guys put real people in it…I think relating it to a person like that transition from informational to real people I think is a very good, good methodology.” “It looked well produced. As far as the message is concerned, it was not much about beating around the bush. It gave good solid information…these are the statistics of what happens. These are some fool-proof methods to help prevent it from happening.” “I personally do not have a problem with it…I think it will connect with the audience in a way that makes it believable and that is receptive. It was not too long. It was not too short.” “It made it where my students, if I were to show it to them, they would feel like it is an easy thing to step into and be able to accomplish.” “I would say just the video…the minute the PowerPoint slips on for me, we’re in death by PowerPoint mode. I start fading fast.” “a video would be a nice break and they might actually…pay more attention, honestly.” “I would use both. I would use some of the slides. I definitely would play the video during breaks. I can already see how that would work out really well.” “The video is a really easy medium to get the information from the slides across in a way that we do not have to sit there and click across multiple slides.” |