A few Massachusetts residents weighed in for Time’s latest cover on gun violence

The cover of the Nov. 5 issue of “Time” magazine will feature a mural of 245 people from across the country, all offering up what they think of gun violence problems in the United States.

And at least a few of them are from Massachusetts.

Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon, and Sean Burke, a Lawrence police lieutenant and president of the School Safety Advocacy Council, all weighed in for “Guns in America” with their thoughts on the politically-heated topic, according to an interactive, online version of the cover photo published this week.

245 people from across America joined together for one TIME cover. It will change how you think about guns https://t.co/kcWAl9HS23 pic.twitter.com/YjeOAIhlbb

— TIME (@TIME) October 25, 2018

The feature showcases images and videos taken by JR, a French artist and photographer “known in part for his murals around the would that portray communities in all their complexity,” the magazine writes. The intent behind the story was to try to find common ground on an extremely polarizing issue.

Here’s what the three participants from the Bay State said:

Seth Moulton

The Salem representative recalled a bit of his military service in the Iraq War as a U.S. Marines infantry officer.

“In Iraq, I carried guns literally every single day. Guns saved my life,” he told “Time.” “But weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools and most Americans agree gun reform makes common sense.”

Moulton, who worked to craft bi-partisan support for a bill to ban “bump stocks after the shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and injured over 850 last year, said legislative solutions to curb gun violence do not have to be complicated.

Americans are not allowed to own grenades or rocket launchers. “Weapons of war,” like assault rifles, shouldn’t be allowed either, he said.

“Frankly, if you need an assault rifle to kill a deer, you need to get some hunting lessons,” he added.

But Moulton noted lawmakers in Congress have lacked the courage “to do the right thing,” even if that means standing against lobbyists and their parties, and enact reasonable policies to prevent tragedies like the one in Las Vegas.

House Speaker Paul Ryan “refused to do the job of Congress” by not allowing Moulton’s bump stock bill to go up for a vote, he said.

The courage lacking in Congress is in stark contrast to how Americans like the students who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, earlier this year have used their voices, Moulton said.

“We ought to start listening to them.”

Sean Burke 

Burke, a 30-year veteran of the Lawrence Police Department and a school safety expert, told the magazine he started to see the damage that guns can yield when he began working in law enforcement as a teenager.

“Now, years later when I’m fighting the national battle to keep schools safe and fighting with districts, and (in) the political realm of what we can do to keep our children safe, there is nothing more aggravating now (then) when the gun topic is interjected into a school safety argument or discussion because with such strong feelings either way, the unfortunate part is everything gets bogged down, nothing gets done,” he said.

The School Safety Advocacy Council, founded in 2005, provides school safety training to school districts and law enforcement, according to its website. Burke serves as the organization’s president.

The country’s argument over guns brings up strong emotions from across the political spectrum — which ultimately slows down and prevents legislation from passing, Burke said.

“Our schools don’t get any safer,” he said.

Joseph Solomon

A strong gun rights supporter, Solomon said he believes responsible gun ownership works.

During his 32-year career however, he’s seen a lot of the opposite, with many gun owners “failing to properly train themselves or their family, failing to secure their weapons,” he said.

“There’s no reason that responsible people, properly licensed, properly trained, properly vetted through a background (check), couldn’t possess a weapon safely to defend themselves or their home,” Solomon said.

He told the magazine that since he keeps a gun in his house for his job, he made sure to teach his four children all about gun safety.

“As my kids got older I took them to firearm ranges,” he said. “I trained them (on) the proper usage and I gave them the right mental attitude that this gun isn’t a toy. This is something that needs to be taken extremely serious.”

Solomon expressed concerns with ideas of arming civilians to protect students at schools and said the national debate around gun violence must continue, but that the conversation must go deeper into the issue with a heartfelt approach.

He also said he thinks video games have desensitized people to both the danger weapons pose and to “the value of a life.”

“I think they’ve lost the understanding of how the life can fleet from somebody and I also think responsible gun ownership (comes) down to respect; respect not only for my brothers and sisters, the bigger world, but respect for yourself and your inner family and I think all our conversations come back to that.”

Hear the full segments.