About Us

Robert Farago founded The Truth About Guns in February of 2010 to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns. The TTAG team’s been at it ever since. We’ve built the site on word-of-mouth, strong writing, and a no-holds-barred attitude. Here’s the 411 on some of the people that do that voodoo that TTAG does so well:

Robert Farago – Publisher

I began my career as a news writer for WBRU-FM Providence, RI. I then interned at enough media outlets to put a dozen people out of work: 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 progressed 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 in the states, I 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 well. In February 2010, I started The Truth About Guns (TTAG). While I’m 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.

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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 arsenal (contributions gratefully accepted).

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Nick Leghorn (a.k.a. Foghorn) – Writer

Nick Leghorn is a recent graduate of Penn State currently working as a Network Security Administrator in San Antonio, Texas. He was born in New York City and grew up in the area, the son of a rather strict “anti-gun” family. He shot his first gun in the Boy Scouts and was instantly hooked on shooting sports.

While attending Penn State, Nick started practicing Olympic smallbore rifle with the Penn State Rifle team. After only a few months of practice he was performing well enough to begin competing against other schools with the team. During his senior year he started branching out into different types of competitions, including USPSA handgun shooting (production division), NRA/CMP High Power Rifle (Service Rifle division), and eventually 3-gun (Tactical Optics division). He also founded and runs his own competition shooting team, consisting of dozens of members in multiple states and countries, who all compete and share tips and information together.

Nick’s main areas of interest in shooting are competition sports, long range accuracy, and scientific  testing. He really enjoys using his knowledge of statistics and analytical abilities to solve questions and do interesting experiments with firearms. To that end he also handloads his own ammunition and is constantly looking for tools and gear to better his score or just simply to test and figure out if it performs as advertised.

In his free time (what’s left after writing for TTAG, at least) he also volunteers as an EMT and is an amateur lockpicker.

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Ryan Finn – Writer

I first shot my grandfather’s .22 bolt action when I was three years old. Ever since I’ve yearned to shoot as many firearms as I can. After spending my formative years moving around the country from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains and parts in between; I found myself studying Political Science at The Citadel (The Military College of South Carolina) in Charleston.

After spending some time herding livestock, I started working as a Detention Officer for the county Sheriff’s Office. I eventually became an armed transport officer and soaked up all the knowledge I could from our very talented firearms instructors, gleefully getting to shoot hundreds of rounds a week.  Eventually the other two loves of my life, my daughters, came along and I found myself looking for a job with which I could better support my growing family. My best compadre in arms Ben helped me out and I became a bureaucrat just like him in the DC area. Now I spend my time writing, wishing for more range time and lustfully dreaming of Big Sky country.

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Dan Zimmerman – Managing Editor

Dan was born, raised and lives in St. Louis.  He runs a student loan servicing and receivables management firm and is a part-time professional photographer.

He came to shooting later than most, picking up his first shotgun in his thirties.  While happily pointing a smoothbore at any orange clay Frisbee, Dan primarily shoots trap.  He bought his first handgun about five years ago and has since acquired his concealed carry license.  Now he’s trying to learn more about rifles.

Dan has an extensive writing background including term papers, grocery lists and assorted snarky comments sprinkled around the Internets.

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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.

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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).

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Chris Dumm – Writer

Chris grew up in the mountains of Colorado. At the age of 13, to the puzzlement of his parents, he got into shooting and hunting. After dabbling in journalism and classical music in college, he chose Political Science as his major (no mathematics required). Chris swore he’d never join the majority of his fellow Political Science majors and go to law school. After college he moved to California, where Chris worked odd jobs for a few years, and then went to law school.

Chris’ previous publications include “Phallic Cameras,” a satirical letter to the editor in a 1990 edition of the (Boulder) Colorado Daily newspaper, and a supporting role in the Washington Court of Appeals case State v. Thompson/State v. Ober. Chris owns and reviews budget-priced guns of all persuasions, and handloads his own ammunition.  Occasionally, his friends let him review something new and expensive. (Hint, hint)

When he’s not commenting on guns, laws, and politics for TTAG, Chris is a criminal defense lawyer in southwest Washington State, where he recently handled a high-profile Open Carry case.

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Patrick Carrube

I was city born and country raised. After moving from Brooklyn, I grew up in the rolling hills of northeast PA, which is where my passion for the outdoors, wildlife, and firearms began. I was lucky to have a friend with a patient dad who was able to help me get into hunting and fishing. My dad was never super interested in the outdoors, but like any good dad he sucked it up and satiated my interests.

I eventually grew up and got my B.S. in Biology from Mansfield University. Just 14 days after graduation, I moved to sunny Arizona with my then girlfriend. In 2007, that beautiful girl became my beautiful wife. We have a little girl (3 yrs old) and are expecting a little boy in March 2011. I’m proud as a peacock and my world revolves around my family, their happiness, and ultimately their well-being.

I currently work as a research chemist, but am attending ASU for my M.S. Technology degree in Environmental & Emergency Management. I will likely be attending ASU for a PhD in the same field. I have many hobbies (too many says my wife), some of which include cabinetry, metal work, automotive restoration, motorcycles, home improvement, video games, and pretty much anything science related.

I’m not political, religious, temperamental, or judgmental. I don’t push my beliefs on to others and I keep my mind open to all lines of thought. While I often give advice and am full of opinions, I appreciate the fact that as individuals we are free to form our own conclusions. I hope that my opinions, editorials, and reviews on TTAG are taken as just that – an opinion. I like to share my knowledge and love to learn from those around me.

Happy shooting!

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Ralph – writer

Our resident humorist and smartass, Ralph has only a one name because his parents wouldn’t give him theirs. We know only that Ralph was born in The Bronx and first learned about guns at the knee of a kindly old button man for the Bonanno crime family. Ralph showed an aptitude for guns at an early age. By the time he was six, he could recognize every pistol ever made just by hearing it shot outside of his window.

Wanting to escape the hustle and flow of New York City for something more bucolic and tranquil, Ralph enlisted during the Viet Nam War. He demonstrated the spectacular judgment for which he would be known as a lawyer by giving up an academic scholarship and a student deferment in order to learn to count cadence and salute lampposts. Throughout his military career, Ralph specialized in the critical function sometimes known as “KP.” After callously peeling the flesh from millions of potatoes, Ralph
obtained an honorable discharge from the military (on-line) and went to law school, thereby vastly improving both professions.

Ralph has been a shooter for over fifty years and a lawyer for over thirty, so he’s been on both sides of the gun. Now retired from both the practice of law and a burgeoning career as a Chippendale, Ralph lives a reclusive life with his two cats, both of whom are learning to shoot despite their lack of opposable thumbs. Ralph has three great passions in his life; one of them is shooting and one of them is not getting shot.

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Tyler Kee – Writer

Tyler Kee is a 2009 graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas where he studied engineering, physics, breakfast tacos, and finance. Once out of college, he spent time back home and out in Phoenix, AZ before settling down with a gorgeous redheaded ICU nurse in Austin, TX.

He is originally from a very small town nestled in the Hill Country of Texas. Born on Texas Independence Day, he considers Texas to be the finest country in the world. It was living the small town life that introduced him to firearms and hunting. His first firearm was a Ruger 10/22 that still sees regular action at the range and the ranch.

Tyler’s main interests outside of work are general aviation, motorcycles, cooking, and the family ranch. He can be found riding, plane spotting, or cooking for friends on most weekends. Hunting season at the ranch picks up around November and most weekends are spent there until winter is over (approximately 2 months later).

He secretly hopes that his fiancée makes lots of money to support all of his habits.

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