Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
The Walk the Talk America Podcast is where firearm culture and mental health meet with curiosity, not confrontation.
Each episode brings together voices from the firearm community, mental health professionals, researchers, and everyday gun owners to have honest conversations about suicide prevention, culture, and practical solutions.
We focus on education over outrage, nuance over noise, and collaboration over division, because reducing negative outcomes requires diverse perspectives.
And because this work is personal, every episode closes with a simple but powerful question: How do you stay mentally healthy?
Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
Episode 41: Tom Nguyen
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Tom Nguyen bought his first gun intentionally to take his own life with it. In this episode we discuss masculinity, race relations, liberalism and conservatism, and a few other subjects.
Tom is a Liberal Gun Club certified Instructor, NRA certified Instructor & Range Safety Officer, and National African American Gun Association member. He offers private & group lessons at various locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.
As a refugee who fled a war, Tom understands that guns can be triggering and have traumatic associations in many BIPOC communities. He had to overcome his immigrant parents’ fear of guns to fulfill his childhood dreams of owning and shooting firearms. After witnessing a gun homicide in his 20s, he started taking his shooting and training seriously, from handguns to rifles and shotguns.
Upon seeing scores of new gun owners who would've never considered firearms before the pandemic and civil unrest, he founded L.A. Progressive Shooters in 2020 as a non-intimidating and inclusive community, focused on safety and education, for BIPOC and liberals new to firearms.
When Tom isn’t teaching or shooting, he documents LA’s multicultural music & dance scene at EnClave.LA.
