Liberal documentary producer Michael Moore launched an anti-gun rant Saturday in which he argued mass shootings are “now part of normal American life” and “guns don’t kill people — Americans kill people.”
The “Bowling for Columbine” filmmaker took to his Facebook page to comment on the tragic shootings at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
“We are a people easily manipulated by fear which causes us to arm ourselves with a quarter BILLION guns in our homes that are often easily accessibly to young people, burglars, the mentally ill and anyone who momentarily snaps,” Moore wrote Saturday. “We are a nation founded in violence, grew our borders through violence, and allow men in power to use violence around the world to further our so-called American (corporate) ‘interests.’ The gun, not the eagle, is our true national symbol.”
The gun control proponent went on to compare the United States to other countries with “more violent pasts” and “more guns per capita in their homes,” including Germany, Canada and Japan, but noted that they don’t have as many gun deaths as America. This, he said, can be attributed to Congress’ failure to pass stricter gun laws and the American people’s delinquency in voting pro-gun lawmakers out of office.
“We won’t pass the necessary laws, but more importantly we won’t consider why this happens here all the time,” Moore said. “When the NRA says, ‘Guns don’t kill people — people kill people,’ they’ve got it half-right. Except I would amend it to this: ‘Guns don’t kill people — Americans kill people.'”
Moore’s anti-gun rant comes days after Elliot Rodger, 22, killed six people and wounded 13 others in the UCSB community of Isla Vista, Calif. Rodger killed his first three victims, who were male housemates of his, with a knife. He then went on a shooting spree, killing three more.
The deadly shooting has renewed Democrats’ calls for stricter gun laws. Though legislation failed in the Senate last year following the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., House Democrats are discussing the possibility of adding an amendment to a spending bill that would expand federal background checks.
