There are lots of places to debate guns, gun rights and gun violence -- editorial pages, websites and blogs, city and state legislatures, and even the Supreme Court of the United States.

But there's hardly any place to go to understand why people believe what they believe about guns. Gunstories.org is meant to be that place.

Whatever your position on guns, we want to know where it comes from. Where you come from. What experiences have shaped your attitudes and your passions?

This site has been created by Web Lab, an online laboratory designed to use the Web to engage people in new ways on a wide range of public and private issues.

It's just one part of a multi-media project.

In addition to being published on this site, your stories may be publicized to other media, as many of our other projects have been. We may also contact you to tell your story in a feature theatrical documentary now in production, and some of the stories may be incorporated into a TV series currently in development.

We welcome comments or questions. Please click on the "Mailing List" tab above and follow the instructions under Feedback.

Marc N. Weiss Executive Producer

Marc spent a lot of time in old media -- a lot of time -- before new media came along to make life interesting again. Beginning in 1969 -- and well into the 90's -- Marc was involved in the production, distribution, programming and promotion of independent documentaries. He created P.O.V., the award-winning public TV series, in 1987 and was its executive producer through 1995, when he founded P.O.V. Interactive, one of the first sites to experiment with what's now called Web 2.0 -- encouraging user-generated content.

A site Weiss produced in 1996, Re: Vietnam: Stories Since the War received wide media coverage and was nominated for several international awards. Twelve years later, the site still comes up high on the list of Google search results for "Vietnam stories." Inspired by the success of that site as a meeting ground for people with widely divergent perspectives on the legacy of the war, Weiss founded Web Lab in 1997.

In addition to his responsibilities at Web Lab, and involvement in several independent documentatries now in production, Marc is a development consultant to David E. Kelley Productions, originators of popular TV series such as Boston Legal, Allie McBeal, and The Practice.

Jeanann Pannasch Editor

Jeanann Pannasch has more than 14 years of editorial experience spanning newspaper reporting to blogging. As a magazine editor, she has covered everything from fashion to politics, fitness to rock 'n' roll. As a book editor, Pannasch has worked on projects for Random House, Time-Life Books, and Sports Illustrated. And in the online arena, she's written for Lifetimetv.com and TheTodayShow.com.

Pannasch grew up with a profound respect for guns instilled in her by her father -- a former Marine, detective, and hunter. She has fired a gun, but has never owned one.