Liam Neeson Bashes Gun Ownership

Famous actor Liam Neeson is well known for starring in thrilling, action flicks such as the "Taken" series in which his teen daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers and the recent film "Non Stop" that depicted him attempting to foil a terrorist attack aboard an airplane. A former government operative in one and a US Air Marshal in the other, Neeson handles firearms as props countless times. There are no lack of gun fights in his movies. However, the 62 year old actor has no problem voicing his dissatisfaction towards gun ownership in the United States. After all the recent school shootings, Neeson came out into the open saying there are "too many f****** guns" in America. Well aware that many of his movies feature firearms, Neeson continued to defend that the violent imagery does not persuade people into purchasing guns, rather that it simply adds to the fantastical thrill of the plot that revolves around revenge. He states that he also watched films including gun violence during his childhood, but was never transformed into a killer because of it. The fact that there are over 300 million privately owned guns in America disgusts the actor who claimed the amount of ownership is a "disgrace."

I have always been a fan of Liam Neeson and this makes me respect him even more despite the irony. Besides his prime acting skills, his favorable opinion towards gun control impresses me. I agree with Neeson, it is shocking how often we see "Yet another few kids have been killed in schools." Perpetrators of these shootings have usually obtained their guns legally. How much longer are we going to allow children to be shot down in elementary schools?  A gun is meant for one thing, to kill or destroy something else. And here they are being distributed throughout the nation with great ease and little restrictions. It did slightly surprise me that Liam Neeson holds such a strong opinion; in fact he doesn't seem like a huge opponent of gun rights due to his career in the action film industry. But that goes to show cinematography does not necessarily dictate your values.