YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Two authors and activists who co-authored a book on gun violence in America will be speaking at Youngstown State University's Centofani Symposium in March.

Thomas Gabor and Fred Guttenberg, co-authors of the book "American Carnage: Shattering the Myths that Fuel Gun Violence" will be at Stambaugh Auditorium Wednesday, March 20.

In the book, Gabor and Guttenberg discuss phrases such as "guns don't kill, people do," "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun" and "gun violence is just a problem in the inner cities" and challenge readers on these arguments.

Gabor is president of Thomas Gabor LLC, a criminal justice consulting firm based in Florida. He served as a professor of Criminology at the University of Ottowa from 1981 to 2011.

He holds a doctorate from The Ohio State University and received the American Society of Ciminology's Gene Carte Price for his research on Crime Displacement.

Additionally, Gabor served as a consultant to many international and national organizations and has provided advice to the United Nations, Lord Cullen's Inquiry on firearms policy in the United Kingdom Department of Justice Canada and various organizations.

He has also testified in front of the House of Commons Justice Committee and the Canadian Senate and served as an expert witness in a number of criminal and occupational safety cases.

Guttenberg began speaking publicly against gun violence following the murder of his 14-year-old daughter in the Parkland School Shooting in 2018.

Additionally, Guttenberg's brother Michael passed away in October of 2017 from cancer related to his service in the 9/11 attacks. Michael was one of the original first responders at the World Trade Center with a team of doctors who got trapped under the building as it collapsed.

Following these tragic losses, Guttenberg traveled the country talking about perspective, perseverance and resilience, as well as pivotal moments in life and how we respond to those moments.

Tickets to the symposium are free and are available beginning Monday, January 29 on a first-come-first served basis. For more information, you can call 330-941-2136.