About Us

Robert Farago – Managing Editor
I began my career as a news writer for WBRU-FM Providence, RI. Whilst annoying my high school teachers, I worked at enough media internships to put a dozen people out of employment: WGBH, WICE, The Providence Journal, etc. At Tufts University, I started a daily newspaper, produced a weekly cable TV show, edited music videos, began exploring personal computing and, eventually, graduated.

I moved down to Atlanta to pick electronic cotton for Massa Turner (CNN). In the following decade, I moved from someone who adjusts camera three left or right by three inches for eight hours a day (since automated), to videotape editor, writer and reporter. I switched over SuperstationWTBS, where I produced Good News. After assuming the Managing Editor’s slot at Creative Loafing newspaper, and bailing on same, I went freelance. In the UK.

At some point, I morphed from writer to hypnotist; a pursuit that kept me occupied and employed for ten years. Back to the states, founded www.thetruthaboutcars.com (TTAC). Eight years later, after amassing 640k monthly unique views, I sold the site to NameMedia. When the economic meltdown arrived, NameMedia sold TTAC to VerticalScope.

That didn’t work out so well. So I started The Truth About Guns. I’m determined to make it a place where firearms enthusiasts can explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun (yes fun) of guns.

While I am committed to Americans’ right to bear arms, I am open to all sides of all arguments on all gun-related issues. In other words, I’m a family man first, an American second, a journalist third and then a gun owner.

Brad Kozak – Writer
Brad Kozak is an iconoclastic, curmudgeonly graphic designer/marketer/writer/musician/advertiser/conservative creative guy. In 2007, he completed a gradual transition from a conservative semi-pacifist to a proactive, armed citizen, willing to exercise his Second Amendment rights to protect his family and property.

He acquired his first handgun (a Model 1911-1A .45 caliber semi-auto) shortly thereafter, and took to the range, determined to learn self-defense without engaging in self-destruction or resorting to mutually-assured destruction between him and any bad guys. He is currently building his self-defense arsenal, which now includes a wheel gun and a tricked-out Wingmaster 870 shotgun. His idea of “gun control” is hitting where he aims.

Since he fancies himself a “gun owner” and not a “gun nut,” he is far more interested in getting past the hype and hysteria (on both sides) and examining the facts, using logic, reasoning, and an acerbic sense of humor to divine the truth about guns, gun ownership, and the current state of self-defense. He’s also big on gun safety, as you’ll note in the picture, his finger is not on the trigger.

Kozak is semi-affectionately known among his little group to his face as “Captain Digital.” What he’s called behind his back remains a mystery, largely because his little group is not as comfortable around self-defense paraphernalia as Kozak is. When not ranting about objectivism, he enjoys building mosaic handball courts for over-privileged children, writing songs no one will hear, and planning the purchase of his ideal conceal-carry handgun (contributions gratefully accepted).

Don Gammill, Jr. – Writer
I’m a freelance writer, educator and part-time musician living in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Growing up in the South, firearms were always a part of my family’s life; however, my Grandfather—a WWII combat veteran—was probably most instrumental in fostering within me both a keen interest in, as well as a healthy respect for, guns and how they are situated in society.

Although I’m a proud gun owner and a practitioner of legal concealed carry, I don’t consider myself a “gun person” per se; my greater interest involves how people relate to guns—especially people who see guns as foreign, often scary/over-politicized icons of danger.

That said, I’m not here to change anyone’s mind, but I am interested in writing for an outlet that is not exclusive to any one constituency or specific ideological position. I believe that guns save lives and that our Founding Fathers (and more recently, our Supreme Court) were 100% correct in deciding that American citizens have the right to defend themselves with firearms.

But if you’re not sure about that, I hope you will nonetheless find my contributions to The Truth About Guns interesting, compelling, intellectually honest and worthy of your open-minded consideration.

William C. Montgomery – Writer
“Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin’ on the porch with my family, singin’ and dancin’ down in Mississippi . . .”  Okay, sometimes I’m a jerk, but I’m not The Jerk. I grew up a well traveled Navy brat claiming zip codes from Aiea, Hawaii, to Norfolk, Virginia, as my home.

After completing a psych degree at Brigham Young University and still not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up, I co-founded a short-lived construction company. After a year of swinging a hammer, I was hired as a bookkeeper by one of our suppliers, Stringham Lumber Company. That job quickly grew into the role of manager of the company’s hardware store.

After parting ways with the Stringham family I took an accounting job with The Associates First Capital Corporation (AFCC). A year later AFCC moved me to Houston where I spent seven glorious years managing an accounting department that supported private label credit cards issued for Texaco, Amoco, British Petroleum, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and others.

Eventually AFCC was gobbled up by Citi and I relocated to north Texas to oversee operational accounting for Citi’s massive Sears credit card portfolio. Currently I consolidate financial information for all of the company’s private label credit card holdings. Somewhere along the line, I managed to go back to school and earn an MBA/eBusiness.

Today I live in the DFW metroplex with my beautiful wife and two sons.  When I’m not counting other people’s money, I write.

Brett Solomon – Writer
Brett Solomon got his first taste of the magazine world covering car electronics for CarSound & Performance Magazine. He landed the job by being noticed for designing high-end car audio systems. Which was fine by him because there was no way he was going to pass the third level of calculus toward an electrical engineering degree at University of Delaware. Not with those DuPont scholars around campus, he’ll take Journalism over Engineering, thank you very much.

He has since written for a number of publications (think in-flight journalism) that lack the chutzpah of Robert Farago, and having all of those milquetoast reviews pent up in his system now allows his pen to spit fire. We’ll, he is just not that mean but happy to tell the truth…and the truth is most firearms are fun!

He got his first taste of marksmanship at a summer camp in the mountains of Pennsylvania, and has loved the shooting sports ever since. The only downside is growing up in the environs of New York City, shooting always took a backseat to PCdom. Where can you find a range? His passion was recently reignited by his father who showed him the fun that can be had with pistols. When he is not writing, you might find him running a high-rise window cleaning company (its four generations old- I’m stuck with it but I love it!) or just hanging out (of a building, that is).

Phoebe Kozak – Writer
Phoebe Kozak is a Middle School student, violinist, dancer, graphic artist, and aspiring shooter, composer, and fashion designer. She’s the proud owner of a Ruger 10/22 rifle, and she’s a pretty good shot. She’s won several awards for creative writing, scholastic achievements, and music competition. She enjoys shooting her rifle at her local gun range with her dad, TTAG columnist Brad Kozak.

L. Neil Smith – Writer
Smith, also known to readers and fans as “El Neil,” is a Libertarian science fiction author and political activist. His books include a trilogy of Lando Calrissian novels: Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, and the Omnibus edition The Lando Calrissian Adventures. He also wrote the novels Pallas, The Forge of the Elders, and The Probability Broach, each of which won the Libertarian Futurist Society’s annual Prometheus Award for best libertarian science fiction novel.

YOUR NAME HERE
The Truth About Guns is always looking for new talent. There’s no “party line” on gun issues; we accept editorial/videos from any perspective. All we require: a dedication to telling the truth about guns and great writing. Email guntruth@me.com.