Vince Vaughn said he is a firm supporter of the Second Amendment and believes Americans should reserve the right to carry guns in public to protect themselves from criminals, as well as a “corrupt and abusive government.”
“I support people having a gun in public full stop, not just in your home,” the “True Detective” actor, 45, told GQ in the newest issue.
“We don’t have the right to bear arms because of burglars; we have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government,” Mr. Vaughn said. “It’s not about duck hunting; it’s about the ability of the individual. It’s the same reason we have freedom of speech. It’s well known that the greatest defense against an intruder is the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back.”
Asked whether he supports the freedom to carry guns on campus, he said, “Of course.”
“You think the politicians that run my country and your country don’t have guns in the schools their kids go to? They do,” Mr. Vaughn said. “And we should be allowed the same rights. Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won’t rid the world of criminality.
“All these gun shootings that have gone down in America since 1950, only one or maybe two have happened in non-gun-free zones,” he continued. “Take mass shootings. They’ve only happened in places that don’t allow guns. These people are sick in the head and are going to kill innocent people. They are looking to slaughter defenseless human beings. They do not want confrontation. In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these [expletive] schools because they know there are no guns there. They are monsters killing 6-year-olds.”
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Mr. Vaughn is an outspoken Libertarian and supported Ron Paul in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. He reportedly backed Mitt Romney after he won the Republican nomination in 2012.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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