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Kurt Russell Digs In On Gun Stance: Is He The Spokesman The NRA Needs?

By Aric Mitchell
Published on: 06:40 PST, Dec 27, 2015

Kurt Russell is a pro-gun guy, and he’s not afraid to tell you about it.

In spite of working in left-leaning Hollywood, the self-described libertarian is a big fan of his weapons, and likes to “shoot things” with them.

This, he revealed in a new interview reported by the Daily Mail, the second time he’s dug in on the issue in the buildup to his gun-heavy turn in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.

“Sure I believe in the right to bear arms, as guaranteed under the Second Amendment of the American Constitution,” Russell said.

The interview described his demeanor as “not ranting or raving,” as he sat in his “luxurious hotel suite” in the London West End. “Far from it,” the Mail adds, implying that perhaps this is a different type of pro-gun personality than most gun control supporters would care to acknowledge.

“This is what people need to understand,” Russell said while addressing the mass shootings in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino.

“Now is not a good time to lay down your weapons — how will you protect yourself? I am a libertarian, a hardcore one, and of course I have guns. I shoot things with them. I hunt game.”

Kurt Russell has also etched a long-running career of “shooting things” with them. Not only has he stood out as one of the leads in The Hateful Eight, he has also starred in acclaimed westerns like the modern classic Tombstone and, most recently, Bone Tomahawk, in addition to the latest QT vehicle.

This is also not the first time that he has let his thoughts on gun control be known. One previous interviewer accused Kurt Russell of getting testy when the subject was broached.

While readers of Mellow Wells’ column Hollywood Elsewhere disagreed and actually thought the actor got the better of the interviewer, Wells felt that Kurt Russell was getting agitated when he referred to guns as “a metaphor that disenfranchised white guys need… it makes them feel good about themselves.”

Russell’s response was firm, but he didn’t get into the name calling of some of Wells’ commenters, who referred to the interviewer as a “snob” and a “p****.”

To the “disenfranchised white guys” line, Kurt Russell said to “tell that to the Kurds fighting ISIS in the Middle East” or “the Cameroonians who just finished killing 100 members of Boko Haram and freeing nearly 900 of their slaves” or the “Ukrainians still fighting off Russian aggression.”

When Wells said that it was “statistically irrefutable” that more guns mean more gun deaths, Russell held firm, telling the interviewer that if he thought gun control would change the terrorists’ point of view, “I think you’re, like, out of your mind.”

He continued.

“I think anybody [who says that] is. I think it’s absolutely insane. The problem, the problem that we’re having right now to turn it around… you may think you’ve got me worried about what you’re gonna do? Dude, you’re about to find out what I’m gonna do, and that’s gonna worry you a lot more.”

In the end, Kurt Russell left Wells with an “agree to disagree” statement and shook his hand.

With that and now his latest foray into defense of “gun culture,” some Mail commenters were touting Russell to be the next spokesperson for the NRA.

The fact that he can repeat many of the gun lobby’s arguments but do so without losing cool and maintaining positive working relationships with QT and many other left-leaning celebrities make him a powerful voice.

But what do you think, readers? Is Kurt Russell right on guns, and right or wrong, do you think he would be an asset to the NRA?

[Image via Helga Esteb/Shutterstock.com]

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