Liam Neeson: Large Number of Guns in U.S. Is a “Disgrace”

The Taken trilogy’s Bryan Mills seems to have no qualms about using guns to take down the bad guys that plague him and his family, but actor Liam Neeson isn’t so keen on them. 

In an interview with Dubai’s Gulf News, the Irish actor took exception to the number of guns in people’s homes, particularly in the U.S. Speaking in light of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, he said: “First off, my thoughts and prayers and my heart are with the deceased, and certainly with all of France … I’ve got a lot of dear friends in Paris.”

He added: “There’s too many [expletive] guns out there … especially in America. I think the population is, like, 320 million? There’s over 300 million guns. Privately owned, in America. I think it’s a [expletive] disgrace. Every week now we’re picking up a newspaper and seeing, ‘Yet another few kids have been killed in schools.'”

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When asked if playing trigger-happy former CIA operative Mills contradicted his personal views, Neeson said he didn’t see how the role would encourage people to go out and buy firearms. 

“I grew up watching cowboy movies, loved doing that [gun gesture] with my fingers, ‘Bang, bang, you’re dead!’ I didn’t end up a killer. I think that’s something the power of cinema can be,” he said.

“A character like Bryan Mills going out with guns and taking revenge: It’s fantasy. It’s in the movies, you know? I think it can give people a great release from stresses in life and all the rest of it, you know what I mean? It doesn’t mean they’re all going to go out and go, ‘Yeah, let’s get a gun,'” he added.

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