Charles Barkley Gets A ‘Sense Of Peace’ From Carrying A Gun

For Charles Barkley, carrying a gun makes him feel safe, secure, and gives him a “sense of peace.”

The former NBA All-Star was discussing gun control in the aftermath of the shooting tragedy involving Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. Now that sports commentators are also political pundits (see what you’ve done, Bob Costas?) Barkley said that exercising his Second Amendment rights makes him feel safer, not more violent.

In fact, Barkley opined that turning the Belcher murder/suicide into a gun control issue instead of a domestic violence issue is a mistake:

“I hope people don’t (overemphasize) the gun situation. I’m very sensitive to domestic violence because I have a daughter (23-year-old Christiana), and that’s just one thing that I cannot accept in any shape or form whatsoever. It’s just a crazy situation.

“I don’t get into the gun stuff. Some guys have guns who go hunting. Where do we stop (the gun control) at? I’m not a hunter, but we can’t say people can’t have guns. … Let’s not make this thing about guns. Let’s make this about mistreating women. That’s unacceptable.”

On an already-taped episode of Costas Tonight, Barkley talks to Bob Costas, the man who stirred up much of this controversy himself, regarding the issue of gun control. Barkley says that he has “carried a gun in my car, every day of my life since I was 21 or 22 — never had to use it.”

“I feel a sense of peace when I have it with me, but it would take extreme circumstances for me to even touch it.”

Barkley also addresses issues of domestic violence and gun control in broader, societal strokes:

“Especially in the black culture, it’s a crime culture. We, as black people, and I always say ‘we’, we won’t have respect, we don’t have respect for each other. We have more black men in prison than we do in college, and crime in our neighborhoods is running rampant. I know everybody reacts when something like the Belcher thing happens. But being black, this is something you deal with all the time, and it’s just sad. I’m a guy and I carry a gun.”

Do you agree with Charles Barkley on this issue? Further, is this something sports commentators should be talking about or not? Sound off below!