James Gunn Slams Right-Wingers Blaming Hollywood Over Gun Crisis: ‘Stop Conflating’ Fact and Fiction
Samantha Bergeson
After Matthew McConaughey addressed the White House on gun control following the elementary school massacre in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, right-wing outlets are questioning the actor’s efforts and Hollywood’s own portrayals of violence.
Yet filmmaker James Gunn, known for bloody action-comedy DC and Marvel films, quickly called out the conflation of fictional gun U.S. with legislation.
The “Peacemaker” showrunner and “Guardians of the Galaxy” writer/director retweeted a Breitbart News post captioned: “Matthew McConaughey, who delivered a passionate plea for new gun control legislation in an address at the White House briefing room on Tuesday, has used 19 guns in 11 movies over 25 years, according to the Internet Movie Firearms Database.”
“Star Trek” icon George Takei first tweeted, “And I have used a deadly phaser many times on screen even though I’m a non-violent Buddhist. What’s your damn point?”
Gunn replied, “I think their point is, ‘Look over there!! Hollywood!’ There are violent stories & video games in most every country in the world. But only in the US is it harder to sell a donut than a gun. Stop conflating fictional guns in movies with common sense gun legislation.”
Gunn then spoke out on the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 after being shot by a prop gun containing a live round on set.
“‘Rust,’ a case of mind-boggling incompetence on nearly everyone’s part, resulted in the only death from a firearm on a set in years,” Gunn tweeted. “The film industry leapt to make sets safer through increased regulations. Over 1500 children & adults have died from US mass shootings since 2009.”
When one follower remarked that 60 percent of gun owners are trained to use their firearms, Gunn replied, “The poster below posted this as if this is a good thing. As if we’d be proud of, ‘Over 60% of drivers received training before getting on the highway’ or ‘Over 60% of surgeons have gone to medical school’ or ‘Over 60% of airline pilots have flown a plane at least once.'”
Nineteen elementary school students and two teachers were murdered by an 18-year-old assailant in Uvalde, Texas on May 24. The shooter purchased an AR-15 assault rifle as soon as he turned of age. McConaughey spoke out against the tragedy on June 7 at the White House.
“We need responsible gun ownership. We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21,” McConaughey said in an emotional speech. “We need a waiting period for purchasing that rifle. We need red flag laws…Responsible gun owners are fed up with the 2nd Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. These regulations are not a step back, they are a step forward for a civil society and for the 2nd Amendment.”
But Breitbart News was not the only right-wing outlet to call out McConaughey. As the Oscar winner exited the podium, Newsmax reporter James Rosen asked, “Were you grandstanding just now, sir?”
Per CNN, there have been at least 246 reported mass shootings in 2022 as of June 5, on track to surpass last year’s historical amount of deaths related to gun violence.
I think their point is, “Look over there!! Hollywood!” There are violent stories & video games in most every country in the world. But only in the US is it harder to sell a donut than a gun. Stop conflating fictional guns in movies with common sense gun legislation. https://t.co/N3P1gsRVR9
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 8, 2022
The poster below posted this as if this is a good thing. As if we’d be proud of, “Over 60% of drivers received training before getting on the highway” or “Over 60% of surgeons have gone to medical school” or “Over 60% of airline pilots have flown a plane at least once.” https://t.co/SB3HtYdNLy
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 8, 2022
