Let’s Talk, Marathon County: WIPPS Releases Deliberative Dialogue Reports on Preventing Gun Deaths

The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) has released reports from a series of public deliberative dialogues on the topic of preventing gun deaths. The dialogues were part of Let’s Talk, Marathon County, a WIPPS initiative that brings together residents of Marathon County from across the political spectrum to have constructive and civil conversations on important public issues.

In summer 2025, 54 residents gathered in seven groups to participate in moderator-led discussions around the topic of “How Should We Prevent Gun Deaths in Our Communities?” Additionally, two Spanish-language dialogues were held with 22 participants.

“The findings from this most recent set of dialogues on preventing gun deaths are striking when you consider that the Let’s Talk panelists represent a spectrum of political affiliations, including conservatives, moderates, and liberals,” said Sharon Belton, WIPPS senior public policy fellow and research partner. “Despite their political differences, large majorities identified areas of considerable common ground and increased confidence in the ability to have civil conversations about this highly-charged topic.”

Let’s Talk, Marathon County was launched in 2023 with a mission to address political polarization by holding moderated dialogues on a variety of public issues. Let’s Talk, Marathon County was selected as one of 32 grantees for the Healing Starts Here initiative, a nationwide effort to address and understand divisive forces in communities and promote healing. This initiative is fully funded by New Pluralists. WIPPS was chosen from a pool of almost 800 applicants, and no taxpayer dollars were used for this project.

To view the full reports, visit wipps.org/lets-talk. Key findings from the recent dialogues include:

• Greater confidence in their community’s ability to have civil discussions about preventing gun deaths. About 90% of participants reported that the dialogue made them “somewhat more” or “much more” confident that their community can engage in civil conversations about preventing gun deaths.
• Considerable common ground about preventing gun deaths, despite political differences, and high levels of respect for those with differing views. Each dialogue included participants with a range of political affiliations. Even with these differences, 85% reported “quite a bit” or “a great deal” of common ground about the topic. A similar percentage (85%) reported that those with differing views acted “very respectfully” toward one another.
• Increased understanding of preventing gun deaths and the pros and cons of potential solutions. More than half (53%) reported that participating in a dialogue helped them better understand the issues surrounding preventing gun deaths and helped them evaluate the pros and cons of solutions “quite a bit” or a “great deal.”
• Expanded perspectives and viewpoints. Many participants (at least half, or 57%) reported that the dialogue helped them “quite a bit” or “a great deal” to consider perspectives or viewpoints they had not considered before.
• Input was highly-valued. Nearly 9 out of 10 dialogue participants (94%) responded that they valued “quite a bit” or “a great deal” the input provided by the other participants about the topics they discussed.
• Increased appreciation for differing viewpoints. Nearly three-fourths (71%) reported that participating in a dialogue made them value differing viewpoints “somewhat more” or “much more” than before the dialogue. A similar percentage (70%) reported being “somewhat more” or “much more” comfortable interacting with members of their community who hold different viewpoints from theirs.
• Increased interest in community engagement. About 61% of dialogue participants reported that participating in the dialogue made them want to be “quite a bit” or “a great deal” more involved with community decision-making about preventing gun deaths and made them want to learn “quite a bit” or “a great deal” more about the topic.

In addition to the series on preventing gun deaths, Let’s Talk dialogues have been conducted on the topics of immigration, youth mental health, homelessness, child care, creating healthy communities, and U.S. Presidential elections and voting. More information on Let’s Talk, Marathon County is available at wipps.org, and details on the Healing Starts Here initiative can be found at newpluralists.org.