Is Mel Gibson 'tooled up' on liberty as well as guns?
(Reposted from http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d27-Is-Mel-Gibson-tooled-up-on-liberty-as-well-as-guns)
Edge of Darkness star Mel Gibson has a gun.
That's apparently a newsworthy tidbit for followers of celebrity tabloid gossipmongers. Showbiz Spy's Richard Head tells readers Gibson "has admitted he has a dangerous weapon hidden away in his home in case an intruder breaks in during the night and puts his family’s lives at risk."
The 54-year-old actor insists there is nothing unusual about his outlook, as in modern society, times have changed to the extent where people need to be 'tooled up' with weapons to defend themselves, their loved-ones and their homes.
True enough. There's nothing unusual about that and Gibson is correct--weapons are tools, and we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to have them and know how to properly use them.
It's hardly news though, that Gibson believes in personal firearms. Back in 2001, I wrote a piece called "Hollywood Squares" (renamed by the editor to "Six Degrees of Hypocrisy") for Guns & Ammo magazine, pointing out some of the inconsistencies we find when we examine movie stars and guns. It included this notation:
Another guy who captures the hearts (and pocketbooks) of gun-owning moviegoers is "The Patriot" Mel Gibson, whose "Lethal Weapon IV" referred to a psychopath as a "spokesman for the NRA." While he reveals that he has taken his children to shooting ranges and believes in self-defense, he admits "I don't even know whether I've made up my mind on [the Second Amendment]."
As is typical, I had more information than needed for a column reference. One of my sources was "Mel Gibson, Lightning Rod," by L. Brent Bozell III. True to form, indignant anti-gunners tried to gin up public hysteria over children using firearms in "The Patriot":
For his part, Gibson, again, isn’t backing down, stating that he and his children have gone to shooting ranges together, and that he sees nothing wrong with their using weapons for self-defense.
I also consulted "Gibson Braves Heartfelt Questions" from Claudia Puig in USA Today, unfortunately no longer online. When asked if he would "take up the NRA banner" from Charlton Heston, Gibson replied:
I don't even know whether I've made up my mind on this issue. It's a prickly one. I can understand why it's there, the Second Amendment. I can understand why gun control would be a good thing. But, would gun control be gun control? I don't know. I do think that guns tend to attract other guns. People have to get trained. I've seen little accidents and mistakes on the set. But, nah, I don't think I'd want to be the chairman of the NRA. I don't need that.
It truly isn't that prickly, Mr. Gibson, and someone who did the research to produce a film like The Patriot ought to know that. It's been about 10 years since your reply--have you had enough time to make up your mind yet?
Admittedly, just because someone has achieved fame and fortune in one endeavor doesn't mean he's qualified or has the passion to lead in another. The flip side to that: Just because someone is rich and famous doesn't give them a pass as a fellow human being on doing what they can to promote liberty. And apathy on the part of gun owners, the "let George do it" mentality that expects someone else is going to fight and fund all the battles to preserve and restore the Second Amendment, works against freedom every bit as much--if not more so--than the most committed efforts by anti-gunners.
If you're a gun owner and you're not doing something to help, you're benefiting--for free--off the efforts of those shouldering the wheel. It would be nice to see an A-lister like Gibson use his high profile on occasion to help "the cause," but it's understandable that he doesn't. Still, as with all gun owners, if I had his ear I'd urge him to do something, just like the rest of us who hold personal activism to be a civic virtue. I even know of a redemptive contribution he could make that would not only do great good, but would really throw a curve to his critics...
Comments
Post a Comment