After what he said about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre back in 2015, it’s a pretty safe bet no one wanted to hear what Chipper Jones had to say following the Valentine’s Day shooting in Parkland, Florida.
But, since he was asked, the Atlanta Braves great gave his thoughts on the issue and, well, dude made some sense.
Really.
“I believe in our Constitutional right to bear arms and protect ourselves,” Jones said. “But I do not believe there is any need for civilians to own assault rifles. I just don’t.”
Say what?
“I would like to see something (new legislation) happen,” the Hall of Famer added. “I liken it to drugs – you’re not going to get rid of all the guns. But AR-15s and AK-47s and all this kind of stuff – they belong in the hands of soldiers. Those belong in the hands of people who know how to operate them, and whose lives depend on them operating them. Not with civilians. I have no problem with hunting rifles and shotguns and pistols and what-not. But I’m totally against civilians having those kinds of automatic and semi-automatic weapons.”
Hold on.
How is it even possible that Jones, an avid outdoorsman and host of his own hunting show is for sensible gun legislation?
Jones, who, surprisingly, is not a member of the NRA (he disagrees with a number of the organization’s positions) also believes the minimum age for gun purchases should be raised from 18 to 21.
“What is going on here in Florida with the protests and people really stepping up to try to make things happen is a good thing,” Jones said. “It’s always good for there to be open discussion. Hopefully if we can keep those high-powered automatic weapons out of civilian’s hands, the Las Vegases and the Columbines and what happened here in Florida will start to dwindle.”
Wow.
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