Episode Details

John Keys spent twelve years on active duty in the Marine Corps and another eight as a federal civilian marine before working as an executive at a broadcast media company in DC. For most of that time he was not a gun owner. As he tells hosts John and Kaylee, the bad examples he saw made him feel the responsibility of gun ownership was a challenge for the people around him, so he kept it out of his life. The pandemic changed that. His first firearm purchase was reactionary, driven by isolation, civil unrest, and the fear that gun stores might close for good. The rabbit hole opened almost immediately, and as friends and family joined him at the range and bought their own firearms, the idea for Guns Out TV took shape.

The show started on local television on ABC 7 in the Washington, DC area, got two episodes out, and was canceled close to January 6, which the station used as the reason. Keys and his partner Shermichael Singleton found out by email while filming in Texas. Warrior Poet Society Network gave them a season to tell their origin story, GOA backed them before and after the cancellation, and their YouTube took off. Now approaching year four, Guns Out runs as a media platform and a full production company built around three pillars: keep it lighthearted but grounded in responsibility, keep it grounded in training and education, and humanize firearms culture.

Much of the conversation is about access. Keys talks about diversity in the gun community, the narrative on the left that gun owners are all old white men, and his work going into underserved communities where people own guns but were never taught to handle them. He argues the community needs more people who aren't against firearms, not just more gun owners, and that reaching them means making the conversation palatable and meeting people where they are. The hosts build on that with the idea of an on ramp into the Second Amendment community and an off ramp for people leaving anti-gun positions. Keys also makes the case for free, government-subsidized mandatory training for first-time buyers, and the group covers the veterans funding win GOA fought for, zero-tolerance enforcement against small dealers, and the lead ammo ban that GOA members flooded with comments. He closes with Range Day 2024 and the first GOA convention in Knoxville.

Links

• www.gunsouttv.com
• gunowners.org

Questions this episode answers

Who is John Keys and how did he go from not owning a gun to founding Guns Out TV?

John Keys is a Marine Corps veteran and former broadcast media executive who was not a gun owner until the pandemic, when isolation, civil unrest, and the fear that gun stores would close drove a reactionary first purchase. As friends and family joined him at the range, the idea for Guns Out TV took shape.

Why did Guns Out get canceled from local television, and how did GOA and Warrior Poet Society Network respond?

After two episodes on ABC 7 in the Washington, DC area, the show was canceled close to January 6, which the station cited as the reason, and Keys learned by email while filming in Texas. Warrior Poet Society Network gave the team a season to tell their origin story, and Gun Owners of America backed them through it.

What are the three pillars behind the Guns Out platform?

Guns Out is built on three pillars: keep it lighthearted but grounded in responsibility, keep it grounded in training and education, and humanize firearms culture. Now approaching its fourth year, it runs as both a media platform and a full production company.

What does it mean to humanize firearms culture and break down the barriers to gun ownership?

For Keys, humanizing firearms culture means showing the human side of gun ownersh