The topic of gun control is a hot-button issue that’s got no real immediate answer. And we’re not going to wade into it, since this is a metal news site and not a political one. But where Ted Nugent is anti-semitic and extremely partisan in his hysterical response without any reason other than he’s a hunter from Michigan, perhaps Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal’s take on the issue might be worth listening to, given what he’s been through in the past few months. Rolling Stone reports that on the eve of their return to France, Hughes, who’s outspoken about the rights of gun owners, gave an impassioned answer when asked if the terror attacks at the Bataclan changed his mind:
“Gun control kind of doesn’t have anything to do with it.” But he then added: “Did your French gun control stop a single person from dying at the Bataclan? If anyone can answer yes, I’d like to hear it, because I don’t think so. I think the only thing that stopped it was some of the bravest men that I’ve ever seen in my life charging head-first into the face of death with their firearms.
“I know people will disagree with me, but it just seems like God made men and women, and that night guns made them equal,” he continued (cribbing an old adage-turned-bumper-sticker slogan about revolver manufacturer Sam Colt). “I think the only way that my mind has been changed is that maybe that until nobody has guns everybody has to have them, because I don’t want to see anything like this ever happen again, and I want everyone to have the best chance to live. I saw people die that maybe could have lived. I don’t know, but I wish I knew for sure that if they could have had a better chance, because there were some real angels, real wonderful people at that show.”
It’s not often you hear artists speak in favor of more guns without coming across as fanatical, but Hughes approaches it in a measured tone. Eagles of Death Metal will be playing Paris’ L’Olympia Bruno Coquatrix tonight, as the Bataclan hasn’t reopened since the November 13th terror attacks.
Jesse Hughes “Une responsabilité sacrée pour… by ITELE
