Death Toll Confirmed at 91 After Monstrous Oklahoma Tornado…233+ Injured…Many Children Among Dead…Some Drowned…Heartbreaking Pictures…Reporter Struggles to Share Terrible News

Listen Live: Glenn Beck Broadcasts From Impact Zone in Oklahoma

Entertainment

Singer James Taylor on Gun Control: ‘We Need to Make Some Sacrifice[s] to Our Freedoms…to Safeguard Our Children’

Jan. 22, 2013 9:17am Billy Hallowell

Singer James Taylor Says Americans May Need to Sacrifice Gun Freedom to Protect Children | Obama

Singer James Taylor (left) and President Barack Obama (right) (Photo Credit: AP)

Singer James Taylor showered accolades upon President Barack Obama on Monday, calling the president the ultimate public servant and proclaiming that Americans “are very fortunate to have Barack Obama as our leader.”

While these comments are expected from a celebrity who unabashedly supported the president throughout his first and second campaigns, Taylor’s proclamations about gun control may trouble some Second Amendment enthusiasts.

During an interview with The Daily Caller yesterday, the singer said that Americans may need to sacrifice some of their liberties in order to protect society from gun violence. When asked to comment about whether he agrees with Obama’s recent executive orders targeting firearms and aimed at stemming violent crime, Taylor made an intriguing proclamation about sacrificing freedom. Before sharing his views, though, he did note that he does not know, in great detail, the contents of the president’s most recent executive orders.

“I think the nation is very divided on gun control, but I think the majority of us feel strongly — even the majority of gun owners feel strongly — that we need to make some sacrifice[s] to our freedoms, if that’s the way to put it,” he said. “We need to make some sacrifices to what we might want to have, in order to safeguard our children.”

As for the Founding Fathers, Taylor believes that, while they wanted Americans to have the right to arm themselves, there are limits to the Second Amendment’s reach.

“I think there’s a limit to how much — I think the founding fathers wanted us to be able to arm ourselves, but I don’t think that they would have agreed that we should have the capacity to do the damage that we do have,” the singer continued. “And we just can’t afford it.”

Watch his comments, below:

Taylor performed at Obama’s inauguration on Monday.

(H/T: The Daily Caller)

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (193)

TimEarl
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:39am
I’ve never owned a James Taylor album – and never will.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Gold Coin & Economic News
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:48am
  I guess just like Ted Cruz said about Obama drinking the Kool Aid, James Taylor is right along side Herr Obama at the Kool Aid dispenser. What happened to these anti-establishment liberals, they’ve all sold out to the establishment:
  http://www.isthatbaloney.com/ted-cruz-of-texas-says-obama-has-drunk-the-kool-aid-and-is-high-on-his-own-power/
  
  Report this comment
- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:56am
  Ok James, ol’ buddy ol’ pal, here’s what we do. We ban and censor music, books and speech, since those things can lead to violent thoughts, which can lead to violence. And you know, if it saves just *one life*, it will be worth it!
  
  Hows abouts them apples, James?
  
  Report this comment
- kadster01
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:03am
  And I should care what another dumb, washed up celebrity thinks….Why?
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:07am
  Hitler thought the same way, that people should be disarmed “For the children”.
  
  I prefer Benjamin Franklin. Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain a measure of security deserve neither and will lose both.
  
  I would rather have to fight every day of my life and endure chaos and be free than to be “safe” under the govt security blanket and be a slave.
  
  Report this comment
- BLACKDIAMONDSKIER
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:10am
  “Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.”
  ― Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers
  
  Our founding fathers were incredibly wise men. They recognized that eventually, in our efforts to be safe, we would give up our liberty. In the end, they understood that it would result in both the loss of our liberty and our safety.
  
  Report this comment
- BSdetector
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:10am
  “Those who would give up a little Liberty in exchange for a little safety, deserve neither, and lose both”
  -Benjamin Franklin
  
  Report this comment
- SpankDaMonkey
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:20am
  .
  Wow!!!! Obama gets re-elected and The Blaze moderator runs Amock……..
  
  Report this comment
- rangerskippy
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:33am
  They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~ Ben Franklin
  
  So Mr Taylor, you are all for doing away with our second amendment right to keep and bear arms, but are you for getting rid of our 1st amendment rights, where the gov can limit what you say, or sing about?
  
  Do you think Mr Taylor realizes that Obama and crew wants to outlaw rifles of certain types, but rifles are used in less than 3% of crimes in the US?
  
  Notice Mr Taylor does not utter a word about the fact that blacks make up 12.5% of the population, and do half of the nation’s murders. If we lower black murder rates to the same as whites, we would drop the murder per capita rate in the US by 40%, thus saving a whole lot of black lives. I want to save black lives, do you think Mr Taylor does?
  
  Not a word from Mr Taylor, mentioning that our murder and violent crime in the US is intrinsically tied to our welfare population.
  
  There is no such thing as an atavistic criminal (born criminal). Crime is not genetic. Claiming crime to be genetic is evil. Ignoring crime because of genetics is also evil. Ignoring black on black crime and ignoring the fact that half of those murdered in the US last year were black is also evil.
  
  Notice Mr Taylor is not concerned that for three decades, MTV has depicted the black man as a brutish thug with bitches and hoes, who treats women badly, glorifies selling drugs, violence against police, and gangster
  
  Report this comment
- joey g
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:37am
  just another sad old fart ….don’t these clowns ever disappear??/
  
  Report this comment
- redfish52
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:39am
  Oh I still listen to James but I know he is a huge lefty as was his ex Carly…remember he did a lot of drugs back in the Fire and Rain day’s….
  
  Report this comment
- Rogue
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:52am
  Come on now – give James a break. I’[m surprised he can string three words together after 20 years on heroin. Memorizing socialist talking points has to be a real achievement.
  
  Report this comment
- blanco5
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:04am
  His music sucked BEFORE he made the comment. Never ever liked his wimpy music.
  
  Report this comment
- naughtycal
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:15am
  How ironic a 60′s anti-government hippie promoting big government welcome to fascism Mr. Taylor your building it.
  
  Report this comment
- leftisneverright
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:23am
  I sure hate it when I’m a fan of someone and they go ahead and open their ******* mouth. It’s such a disappointment to see how stupid these people are!!!!
  
  Report this comment
- naughtycal
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:33am
  You’re right ghost just look at what a couple decades of rap music has done to black community and it’s culture. It has transformed every black community into war zones where gangster make raps about murder,rape,disrespecting women,and killing cracka babies. 90% of all violence that accures in our society is influenced the violent images, contained in movies,music,video games and literature. The constanced bombardment of this type of mental stimulants has created a sub society numb to violence and apathetic to the pain of others.
  
  Report this comment
- hypnos
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:49am
  Hey James let me introduce you to Ben Franklin.
  
  Report this comment
- OutOfTheAether
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:47pm
  LEFTISNEVERRIGHT
  
  I was thinking the same thing. What a shame. Liked his stuff
  
  Report this comment
- Lotus503
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:47pm
  Just another old, washed up hippie freak….
  
  Report this comment
- shorelineliz
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:01pm
  Silencing The White NRA Conservative Male by Charlton Heston:
  
  “The Constitution was handed down to guide us by a bunch of wise old dead white guys who invented our country! Now some flinch when I say that. Why! It’s true-they were white guys! So were most of the guys that died in Lincoln’s name opposing slavery in the 1860s. So why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is “Hispanic Pride” or “Black Pride” a good thing, while “White Pride” conjures shaven heads and white hoods? Why was the Million Man March on Washington celebrated by many as progress, while the Promise Keepers March on Washington was greeted with suspicion?
  
  To: Harvard Law School- 1999 Speech- “Winning the Cultural War”
  “You are the best and the brightest. You, here in this fertile cradle of American academia, here in the castle of learning on the Charles River. You are the cream. But I submit that you and your counterparts across the land are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge. And as long as you validate that and abide it, you are, by your grandfathers’ standards, cowards.”
  
  Quote: “Political Correctness is Tyranny with Manners”
  
  National Press Club/1997: “Now, I doubt any of you would prefer a rolled up newspaper as a weapon against a dictator or a criminal intruder.”
  
  Report this comment
- tiredofit2010
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:06pm
  and for those who have one, start doing some youtube vids of them being shredded.
  
  Report this comment
- AvengerK
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:09pm
  Taylor is a typical lefty and aging hippie. The constitution means absolutely nothing to him and he’s more than happy to keep giving the state more and more power over us. It’s for the people man. It’s for their own good.
  
  I recall his lefty cohorts tried to control music in the eighties too. Tipper Gore’s PMRC…boy that was a rousing success wasn’t it?
  
  Report this comment
- AvengerK
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:12pm
  He’s seen fire and he’s seen rain, he’s seen sunny days that he thought would never end…but he’s never understood the constitution or the bill of rights apparently.
  Stick to funny hats to keep your bald head warm Jimmy..leave the thinking to those that didn’t drench their minds in LSD.
  
  Report this comment
- Gorp
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:36pm
  His singing sucks too!
  
  Report this comment
- IIIcorp
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:38pm
  Mr Taylor, perhaps you need to pick up a book sometime. Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin
  
  Report this comment
- desertspeaks
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 3:10pm
  let’s hear more from someone who doesn’t matter!! PLEASE!?!?!
  Anyone who is willing to sacrifice freedom for security, deserves NEITHER and will lose BOTH!
  
  Report this comment
- llib
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 7:02pm
  right on just what we need opinion from a has been herion addict
  
  Report this comment
- 226crimsontrace
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 8:06pm
  I had planned to fight to the death to keep my guns, but wow, James Taylor. I’m gonna turn mine in tomorrow, after all didn’t he sing a song in the last millenium?
  
  Report this comment
IndyGuy
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:38am
Long haired hippy freak is now a shriveled up old idiot…

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- barber2
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:51am
  Isn’t this hideous: all of those weird , marijuana-smoking, mal-adjusted young 60s radicals like Ayers , Taylor, and Fonda are now old radicals. Worst of all, they have political influence. All of the moral adults are dead.
  
  Report this comment
- djeffcoat
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:11am
  I’m guessing JT’s **** died because his brain died too.
  
  Report this comment
- shorelineliz
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:40pm
  Opinions are like arse holes and even James Taylor has one! He missed the boat on this one big time! But as many comments have already indicated that he is a dumb old fart when it comes to politics. Ya can’t win em all James Taylor. Didn’t you write a song about a dumb old fart called “Walking Man” who never stops and talks? Take the advice of the song Mr. Taylor. NEver open your dumb mouth on this subject again! Please! Spare us!
  
  Report this comment
- shorelineliz
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:48pm
  Looks like Frick and Frack shaking hands. Oops! Frack is Matt Damon!
  
  Report this comment
- Fubared
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 2:23pm
  This was a quick decent read about the crowing and it’s crowd.
  http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/12463
  
  Report this comment
- MDECKER
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 5:43pm
  James Taylor, the great American Historian?
  
  Report this comment
RattlesnakeBoy
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:34am
Tell you what, I’ll turn in my AR-15 when there is a Constitutional Amendment banning abortion. Shouldn’t be a problem if this is really about the children.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Mrmacson
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:36am
  I agree! Over 55 million babies have been aborted and people say they want the children to be safe. Another hypocrisy? Why not make them all safe? In and out of the womb. I truly fear for this country and the world. We are going in the wrong direction. God help us all.
  
  Report this comment
- Witness1974
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:19am
  Excellent rebuttal to Taylor. Good job!
  
  Report this comment
- CloudNine
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:08pm
  Amen to that!
  
  Report this comment
- TH30PH1LUS
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:46pm
  BHO said he’d murder his own grandchild so that his daughter wouldn’t have to be “punished with a baby”. Then the same man says he wants to take your guns to “protect the children”. He must have a low opinion of American intellect.
  
  Report this comment
FaithfulFriend
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:34am
Too bad he doesn’t think law abiding Americans deserve the same “full compliment” of trust and Freedom as his shepoodle does.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
booger71
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:33am
As for the Founding Fathers, Taylor believes that, while they wanted Americans to have the right to arm themselves, there are limits to the Second Amendment’s reach.

“I think there’s a limit to how much — I think the founding fathers wanted us to be able to arm ourselves, but I don’t think that they would have agreed that we should have the capacity to do the damage that we do have,
=========================================
First, where are these limits placed on the 2nd Amendment, and second, if General Washington had several M-16′s look how many lives of the Patriots could have been saved. James you just make no sense.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Stelex
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:33am
James, I’m pretty sure that the thousands and thousands of people who fought the Revolutionary war, WWI, and WWII didn’t do it so we could give up our liberty on the say of a pop singer…….JAGOV

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- BODYBAG
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:35am
  Nice. Try millions and millions though. :)
  
  Report this comment
Tigress1
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:33am
“Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.” – Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson (I forget which)

James Taylor, you are wrong. The majority of Americans don’t agree with you. Most parents want their children to have the SAME freedoms that they enjoy. Parents need to start raising their children to have morals and a conscience, the legal system needs to close it’s revolving door, and the mental health system needs to get it’s act together. No need to surrender freedoms to protect our children.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
skydash
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:32am
Great singer….not much of a thinker…..

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- shorelineliz
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:46pm
  yes. Mom and Dad used to say don’t comment on what you know nothing about and this applies to James Taylor. Stick to singing your songs you hippie! I have his Christmas Jazz Album and it is good. The dude knows music not guns! It is unfortunate that he opened his dumb old mouth on this one but everybody deserves a gaffe now and then, huh? Except Joe Biden. He is over his gaffe limit big time! Someone duct tape that old farts mouth and I can’t wait until he is no longer the VPOUS.Did I just say V-PUSS? Now that is LMAO Funny!
  
  Report this comment
johngale23
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:31am
Those who give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither. Benjamin Franklin

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Dde13
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:29am
Just another troll….

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- edschneid
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:37am
  Just threw out all his music. Amazing what drugs will do to you over the years.
  
  Report this comment
lid.smoker
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:29am
Wow, he is not aging well at all. What a hook nosed crypt keeper.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
VISITORNUMBER3
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:29am
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

James Taylor needs to go on back to Carolina in his mind…

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Landon410
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:29am
lets safeguard our children by not handing them 50,000 debt the second their born

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Small World
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 1:33pm
  Good one !
  
  Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:29am
that we need to make some sacrifice[s] to our freedoms, if that’s the way to put it,”

Taylor you’re an idiot and your Marxist POS ruler appreciates your idiocy,you stumbled upon the truth of the matter though,kind of,we’ll lose our freedom and our lives if Barry had his way. You think BHO is the ultimate public servant? Who dresses you and cares for you on a daily basis?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:41am
  I say we sacrafice his freedom of speech first before he sacrafices my 2nd amendment rights.
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:42am
  Think he would be OK with women giving up their “right to choose”? You know…for the children.
  
  Report this comment
- progressiveslayer
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:17am
  Darmok I like that idea,on second thought let’s just sacrafice James,nope can’t do that either because he’s already dead,his brain anyway.
  
  Gonzo Good one G,we both know the answer to that one.
  
  Report this comment
- shorelineliz
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 12:52pm
  ooooooo Mexico. Sounds so simple I just want to go. Mr. Taylor. They are waiting for you. Exit stage Left.
  
  Report this comment
deltaecho
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:28am
The purple haze is all in his brain.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Gonzo
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:27am
Let’s “safeguard” our children by taking away our means of self protection. Brilliant James….go get some Rogain.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- jeffersonian1776
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:45am
  In the accolades of Mr. Franklin, a man who knew what a free society requires for itself to remain free, he would say that: James Taylor does not deserve to live in a safe and secure society, let alone even a free society. Damn, that Franklin was bold, and unapologetic. Imagine, today Franklin would be put on the no-fly list and dubbed a terrorist for these “radical” beliefs, that very much is most certainly true. But at least he would be willing to tell James Taylor this to his face.
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:15am
  All the founders would be considered far right extremists by today’s media standard.
  
  Report this comment
Grim Spirit
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:27am
Stick to singing, James. This attempt at higher thinking just demonstrates the long-term effects of drug use.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
steve61lindsey
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:26am
Another airhead musician. As someone who doesn’t live in a mansion with bodyguards and can’t afford drugs (including heroin) and rehab, his opinions mean nothing. Just shut up and sing.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Thighmaster
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:26am
One question, does Mr Taylor ever use armed protection ?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
woodyee
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:26am
So far, the UrTag poll question I posted “Would You Surrender Your 2ND Amend Rights To The government, In Exchange For A Promise From The Government To Protect You From All Harm?” has garnered 79,000 responses.

99% have said no. James Taylor is a 1%’er, and DESERVES NEITHER RIGHTS NOR FREEDOM.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
RightUnite
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:26am
What a dumb*zz liberal tool….

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
biohazard23
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:23am
James who?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
mikem1969
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:22am
No we do not need to sacrifice any of our freedoms. We need to get back to the basics of family, god, and country instead of the broken family structure that the left loves o exploit. We also need armed guard in the schools to aid in protecting our kids. Giving up freedoms only hurts our kids.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- toidiegalliv
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:32am
  Mike, you are right about that. Isn’t it interesting that this “sacrifice” they speak will do absolutely nothing to protect children, but history and stats show us exactly what it will do.
  
  Report this comment
- HeavenlyMinded
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:39am
  I agree.
  
  Report this comment
- mikem1969
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 10:30am
  TOID, you are correct, history has shown us what happens when freedoms are given up, and it is not a pretty picture.
  
  Report this comment
- TheePolitinator
  Posted on January 22, 2013 at 11:12am
  Kind of hard since we are now a plantation Nation. We have fallen prey to corporation, gotta work many jobs, used to be a man could support his family. This has been removed by design. But people wanna call it conspiracy.
  
  Report this comment
trolltrainer
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:22am
This is your brain on drugs…

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
momrules
Posted on January 22, 2013 at 9:20am
Another Obama pet wagging his tail. YOU give up all the freedom you want to James, the rest of us love our GOD given rights.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.