"OFF TARGET: What Hollywood, Journalists, and Shooters Get Wrong About Guns"

Have our perceptions of firearms been shaped, and distorted, by folklore and popular media? On Wednesday, January 20th at 7 PM at the New Haven Town Offices, award-winning mass communications practitioner and educator Dr. Mark Timney will present an apolitical examination into the mythology that surrounds firearms. Much of what the average person, even the average gun owner, thinks he or she knows about guns, Dr. Timney says, is inaccurate. Such distortions--about the mechanics, ease of use and lethality of guns--have seriously hindered public discussion about the regulation of firearms.

Dr. Timney, himself a firearms enthusiast and rated expert in firearms competitions, is neither a gun rights advocate nor a member of any gun rights organization. Primarily a media researcher, he has worked as a television reported, producer, and news anchor, as well as a freelance writer and public relations consultant. His most recent research on firearms concerned the portrayal of firearms in popular films. He earned his MS degree in journalism and his doctorate in mass communication from Ohio University, and currently teaches at Keene State College.

The talk is a Vermont Humanities Council event, hosted by the Friends of the New Haven Community Library. It is free and open to the public. 453-4015 for further information.

Jan 29, 2025, 2 to 3:30 PM

Jan 29, 2025, 6:30 to 8 PM

Feb 1, 2025