Top 10 Pro-Gun Rights Celebs Who Might Surprise You

From the September 2014 issue of TheBlaze Magazine:

Most celebrities toe the liberal line on nearly every issue — social, economic or political — and no one is surprised to hear Alec Baldwin or Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn spouting leftist progressive nonsense. But when members of a reliably elite liberal crowd reveal a constitutionalist leaning on an important issue, people on the right begin to take notice. This is especially true when stars and starlets come out in favor of gun rights—a longtime left-wing bugaboo.

Most Second Amendment advocates know about conservative-leaning celebs whose pro-gun stances might not be that surprising, celebrities such as Ted Nugent, Tom Selleck, Clint Eastwood, R. Lee Ermey, Chuck Norris, Jeff Foxworthy and even Bruce Willis. But these 10 big names, whose politics have been presumed reliably liberal, might surprise you in their support for gun rights, from being licensed gun carriers who at least advocate for their own gun rights to vocal advocates for everyone’s Second Amendment rights.

#10: Alton Brown

Chef Alton Brown attends an event at Apple Store Soho on Nov. 21, 2013, in New York City. (Brad Barket/Getty Images)

The popular Food Network host has revealed repeatedly on Twitter his various preferred firearms. In May 2012, he also noted that he is regularly packing, “not every day … but most days. It’s a dangerous world.”

Brown went on to emphasize his belief in home-defense and gun ownership by tweeting, “At home we like to say the house is protected by Mossberg, but the Mossberg is protected by H&K.”

#9: James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones poses for a photo during a "Driving Miss Daisy" photo call, Jan. 7, 2013, in Sydney, Australia. (Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

He has one of the most recognizable voices in the world — from Darth Vader to “This is CNN” — and no one questions his stage and screen acting chops. Jones, who is an NRA member, also has one of the most poignant quotes on the Second Amendment to ever come out of Hollywood:

“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise, they will win, and the decent people will lose.”

#8: Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt poses for a portrait to promote his film, "Killing Them Softly," on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012 in New York. (Victoria Will/Invision/AP)

When asked by the Daily Mail about the call for stricter gun laws following the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, Pitt was clear on his views:

“America is a country founded on guns. It’s in our DNA. It’s very strange, but I feel better having a gun. I really do. I don’t feel safe, I don’t feel the house is completely safe, if I don’t have one hidden somewhere. That’s my thinking, right or wrong.

“I got my first BB gun when I was in nursery school. I got my first shotgun by first grade, I had shot a handgun by third grade and I grew up in a pretty sane environment.

“I was in the U.K. when the shootings happened and I did hear the discussion about gun control start again, and as far as I know, it petered out as it always does.

“It’s just something with us. To turn around and ask us to give up our guns … I don’t know, we’re too afraid that we’re going to give up ours and the bad guys are still going to get theirs.”

Also, according to The Sun, Pitt spent some $400,000 on a shooting range for wife Angelina Jolie.

#7: Angelina Jolie

Actress Angelina Jolie speaks at a G8 foreign ministers press conference on sexual violence against women, April, 11, 2013 in London. (AFP/Getty Images)

Not only does she have the gun range Brad gave her, but she’s also not been one to hide her support for gun ownership. During a 2008 interview with the Daily Mail about her violent movie “Wanted,” in which she plays an assassin, Jolie was asked how she’d kill for real if compelled to do so. She responded:

“If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them. ...

“I bought original, real guns of the type we used in ‘Tomb Raider’ for security. Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one. And yes, I’d be able to use it if I had to. I could handle myself. I think there are certain combat skills that would come out.”

#6: Charles Barkley

Hall of Famer and television analyst Charles Barkley watches during the American Century Championship celeb-am round at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, Thursday, July 19, 2012, in Stateline, Nev. (AP)

The day after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher’s 2012 murder-suicide, NBC’s Bob Costas used the halftime show of “Sunday Night Football” to lecture the nation on the need for gun control. Barkley, an Obama backer and NBA all-star, took on Costas’ anti-gun stance during an interview on “Costas Tonight” and lamented the state of the black community — not guns.

“You know, we as black people always, we don’t have respect for one another. You know, we’ve got more black men in prison than we do in college and crime in our neighborhoods is running rampant,” Barkley said. “And 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, I carry a gun. I carry a gun.”

The Round Mound of Rebound added that carrying a gun has been a longtime practice for him, claiming, “Even when I lived in Philadelphia, I’ve had a gun, I’ve carried a gun in my car every year in my life since I was 21, 22. Never had to use it.”

Why does he carry? “I just feel safer with it.”

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Get the rest of the list only in the September issue of TheBlaze Magazine, which you can get for FREE.

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