Exploring Common Ground on Gun Violence Prevention

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courtesy Builders Wisconsin

Two still images from the documentary "The Tennessee 11."

"The Tennessee 11" is a film about a politically diverse group of Tennesseans who took it upon themselves to develop solutions to gun violence after a shooting at Nashville's Covenant School.

This event, co-hosted by the nonpartisan Builders organization, is designed to “broaden the often-binary conversation on guns and empower Wisconsinites to find a way forward together.” The afternoon begins with a screening of The Tennessee 11, a documentary about a bipartisan group of citizens who came together to try and create proposals to curb gun violence in the wake of a 2023 school shooting. Two of the people featured in the film will participate in a post-screening panel discussion along with community leaders from around Wisconsin. Free, but RSVP at overture.org.

media release: On Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m. in Promenade Hall at Overture Center for the Arts, Wisconsin citizens from across the ideological spectrum are invited to a free film screening and multi-partisan panel discussion that will explore the hidden common ground on the prevention of gun violence in schools and the community. Please RSVP.  

The event, which comes three months after a deadly shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, will be led by local citizens, including Dane County’s Ali Muldrow, Milwaukee County’s Bria Halama and Door County’s Jake VandenPlas, in partnership with Builders, a nonpartisan movement to equip citizens to overcome toxic polarization. It aims to broaden the often-binary conversation on guns and empower Wisconsinites to find a way forward together. 

The afternoon will kick off with a screening of The Tennessee 11, a documentary about a politically diverse group of Tennesseans who took it upon themselves to develop solutions to gun violence after a similar shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School. Afterwards, two people featured in the film – Alyssa Pearman, a high school teacher who has lost students to gun violence, and Adam Luke, a Second Amendment supporter who grew up hunting – will represent the Tennessee 11 on the panel. They will join leaders from the Badger State, including government scholar and director of the Marquette Law School Poll, Charles Franklin, and nationally recognized changemaker, entrepreneur and speaker Steven Olikara. 

The panel will explore topics relevant to this moment in Wisconsin and American political life, including public consensus on the issue, how to balance public safety with Second Amendment rights and how citizens can replace an “us vs. Them" mindset with problem solving and flexible thinking. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions. 

“We don’t want to walk the same path that typically unfolds after a tragedy like the one that took place in our community, where we reflexively blame the ‘other side’ and entrench further into our positions,” said Muldrow, who lives in Madison and serves as the Board of Education treasurer for Madison Metropolitan ISD. “Hopefully, attendees will leave with a sense of what’s possible and a renewed commitment to working together for the common good.” 

Muldrow, Halama and VandenPlas participated in a Builders civic experiment last year. Alongside other Wisconsin citizens, the group found unexpected common ground on a separate polarizing issue – abortion and and family well-being. Their experience productively working across lines of difference prompted them to tackle another major politicized issue on the minds of legislators and the public this legislative session. 

  “While our life experiences may differ from Wisconsinites, the issues we face related to guns and gun violence are similar,” said Adam Luke, who lives outside of Nashville, Tenn., and is featured in The Tennessee 11 film. “The labels we give one another – Republican or Democrat and pro-gun versus pro-gun control – don’t accurately reflect our shared desire for safety. When we look at this issue with more nuance, we unlock the opportunity to solve problems together.” 

The event, which is free and open to the public, starts at 1 p.m. in Promenade Hall at Overture Center for the Arts (201 State Street, Madison). To learn more and RSVP, visit BuildersWI.eventbrite.com. 

Co-hosts 

Ali Muldrow 

Member of the Builders WI 

Muldrow is a mother, educator, activist and doula. She is Board of Education treasurer for MMSD and executive director at WMF Wisconsin. Muldrow, a self-described progressive, reached out to her politically diverse colleagues to co-host this event because she believes that it’s worthwhile to be in conversation and co-create solutions together.  

Bria Halama 

Member of Builders WI 

Halama is a clinical mental health counselor (LPC), a Wisconsin native and is passionate about her Catholic faith. Fascinated by the human person, Halama walks with individuals experiencing depression and anxiety, grief, trauma and a variety of other relational concerns. To bridge divides, Halama sees the importance of exiting the “enemy mode” and lowering our defenses to see the good in each person's humanity. 

Jacob VandenPlas 

Member of Builders WI  

VandenPlas is the president and founder of Door County Farm for Vets. He operates a nonprofit farm, supports veterans in his community and ran as a libertarian candidate for Wisconsin's 8th district, all of which reflect his commitment to sparking change at the local level. 

Panelists 

Steven Olikara 

Olikara is a nationally recognized changemaker, entrepreneur and speaker at the intersection of media, politics and culture. He serves as the founding president of Bridge Entertainment Labs, which harnesses the power of entertainment to transform America’s divisions. He also serves as senior fellow for Political Transformation at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and is an on-air political commentator for national and Wisconsin media. A proud Wisconsin native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he has hosted bipartisan town halls on guns, drawing participants from urban, suburban and rural areas around Milwaukee. 

Charles Franklin 

Franklin is a nationally recognized government scholar and pollster and has been director of the Marquette Law School Poll since its inception in 2012. Prior to joining the Marquette faculty as a professor of law and public policy, he was a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Adam Luke  

Member of Builders TN & The Tennessee 11  

Luke is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Second Amendment supporter. He has talked to police officers, grieving mothers, veterans struggling with PTSD and others whose life experiences have shaped their views on guns. In his work, Luke has found that the same base fears are applicable to all. He believes in the value of people with differing viewpoints having a civil conversation. 

Alyssa Pearman 

Member of the Builders TN & The Tennessee 11 

Pearman is an educator, mother and violence prevention advocate. In one year, Pearman lost two students to gun violence. She believes in addressing root causes, including trauma, to prevent gun violence. Pearman participated in the civic experiment featured in the film to become a change agent in her community. 

Reverend Everett Mitchell 

Dane County Circuit Court Judge & Senior Pastor 

The Honorable Reverend Everett Mitchell presides over the Juvenile Division in Branch Four of the Dane County Circuit Court. He hears cases involving juvenile delinquency and other civil and criminal proceedings. Judge Mitchell also serves as senior pastor of Madison’s Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church with a mission “…to be a place where everybody is somebody.” An advocate for education and equity, Judge Mitchell recently led the congregation into an alliance with a majority white congregation. A gun owner himself, he looks forward to sharing his nuanced thoughts on the topic. 

 Media interested in attending should email media@buildersmovement.org. 

About the Builders Movement 

Builders is a nonpartisan movement equipping people to overcome toxic polarization and solve our toughest problems. Builders accomplishes this mission by providing citizens with tools to think flexibly, engage in constructive civic problem-solving and hold elected representatives accountable to the will of the people. In addition to our community of more than 3.5 million followers, Builders is supported by 350 ideologically diverse leaders across sectors from business, entertainment, politics, academia, faith, sports, journalism, technology and national defense. It is a project of Builders Network, Inc. 

Celebrating 20 years in Madison, Wis., OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, nine resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 500,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture’s mission is to support and elevate our community’s creative culture, economy and quality of life through the arts. overture.org