Michael & Me: Larry Elder Shows the Other Side of the Gun Control Debate

Michael & Me is a pro-gun documentary made by Libertarian columnist Larry Elder. It was made to address some of the points brought up by Michael Moore in his anti-gun film called Bowling for Columbine, a movie which I have not yet seen. If you are like me and totally against gun control, then you will find this movie reaffirming. If you sit on the border and are undecided about guns, you should take the time to watch this movie. It's very well done and shows both sides of the gun control debate, though it obviously leans more toward the pro-gun side.

The title of this movie is directly copied from one of Moore's earlier films called Roger & Me, in which Moore tries to arrange a meeting with General Motors executive Roger Smith. Just like how Smith never actually met with Moore in his film, Elder doesn't have a real interview with Moore in this film. There is one part where Elder approaches Moore outside a book signing, then shoves a microphone in his face and asks a few questions. It was like some sort of ninja interview and of course Moore was taken off guard by it. Elder tried to arrange a sit-down interview with Moore to come on Elder's radio show, but his calls were never returned.

Prior to seeing this movie, I was only vaguely familiar with Larry Elder's work. I'd read some of his columns before and recognized his face, but I never realized how pro-gun he was. Not that this makes any difference to me, but he's also a black man. Elder has appeared on various different TV shows and talk shows, and hosts his own radio show out of Los Angeles KABC Talk Radio. He's also the author of the best-selling novel 10 Things You Can't Say In America.

I thought Elder did a great job putting this movie together because he let plenty of other people voice their opinions. Rather than he narrate the whole thing and have his face stuck in the camera most of the time, like Michael Moore, Elder uses a lot of candid on-the-street interviews and gives people plenty of time to talk. He also balances the interviewee's opinions by showing people expressing both sides of the gun control debate as well as showing some that sit on the fence. He interviews quite a few men and women and it is interesting to hear how these people react to Elder's questions about self defense and gun safety.

One thing that helps Elder make a strong argument in this movie is that he doesn't target any one politician or group of elected officials. Instead, he targets the anti-gun lobby as whole. He mentions how the media reports on gun-related stories in a way that tries to demonize firearms. He also shows how the media is very reluctant to run a story where someone uses a gun for self defense, but are quick to inflate any story where someone is a victim of gun crime. The most interesting interviews of all came on the subject of self defense.

One thing I learned from this movie is the way people on both sides of gun control see the use of guns in society. On one side, you have people that don't want to put their lives in the hands of police officers when they may not have 2 or 3 minutes to wait until the cops arrive. Those people want to be prepared for whatever may happen and want the self-assurance to know they have the tools needed to defend themselves, God forbid they ever have to do so. On the other side, you have the people who think that we should rely entirely on the police and that humans are just too accident-prone to be trusted with firearms. In other words, people just aren't smart enough to handle a gun properly. I was amazed at how solidly people felt on these two ideas.

Larry Elder should be commended for his excellent work in putting together Michael & Me, and if Michael Moore ever obliges him with an interview, I'm sure it would be quite interesting to hear. I won't use this review to go off on a tangent about how much I believe that guns are necessary and that taking away our right to defend ourselves will in no way make us safer, but I will say this - if you are undecided on gun control, please watch this movie. It just might change your mind.