McKagan elaborated on his views on gun control in his debut column for Vice’s blog, Noisey. The article focused on “things happening right now,” aiming to bring “a bunch of us back to a place where we can talk and hopefully—in a small way—start to make this country and world, a much better place for us all.”
Describing himself as an “armchair historian,” McKagan expressed opinions on various subjects, particularly advocating for gun control:
“So let’s do some tweaking. Background checks for all gun sales? Hell yes, right? What’s the argument against that? Banning AK-47s and the like? Probably a damn good idea, right? Who needs them? I’m just a regular guy, neither “pro” nor “anti” gun…and I understand and respect the right to bear arms, but do some of you actually think we maintain this right still for the sole purpose of the ‘in case’ of our own government somehow taking over (as opposed to fighting off the English imperialistic monarchy in 1775). This all seems as basic to me, as banning sales of guns here for people who are on the no-fly list. Is there something I am missing here?”
However, there are several aspects that McKagan seems to overlook. Firstly, Founding Father James Madison explicitly emphasized the right of the American people to bear arms as a safeguard against tyranny, a point he made in Federalist 46—an essential text for any self-proclaimed armchair historian to study. Moreover, the no-fly list has a well-documented history of inaccuracies and is based on allegations rather than convictions of a crime. Therefore, using this list infringes upon Americans’ due process rights and blurs the line between accusations and verdicts.
Thirdly, while background checks are indeed in place, they do not effectively prevent potential criminals from obtaining firearms.
McKagan also addressed gun owners, advising them to ‘ignore’ emails from the NRA and expressed skepticism that politicians could realistically confiscate guns:
“If you are a gun owner in this country and you actually think somebody is gonna come to your house and take your gun away…uh….maybe you shouldn’t be a gun owner (just my two cents).”
“Educate yourselves on the Amendments and the Constitution to which they were added. An actual repeal of an Amendment would have to pass thru two-thirds of both Legislative bodies, and then have be ratified by two-thirds of the 50 states. It’ll never be repealed simply because there is NO WAY 38 states will vote against guns.”
As McKagan attempts to argue that politicians can’t confiscate firearms, it’s essential to note that in the same article, he endorses politicians prohibiting entire categories of guns, such as ‘AK-47s and the like.’
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