Author Stephen King Blasts NRA, Politicians, and Gun Owners with Release of "Guns" Essay

Just a few weeks ago prominent psychological thriller/horror writer Stephen King published an eBook essay entitled Guns in which he slams people such as the NRA for their stubbornness and calls on gun supporters to support the ban on assault weapons.

Lashing against the NRA's claim that America's 'culture of violence' was to blame for things such as shootings, King stated: "to claim that America’s 'culture of violence' is responsible for school shootings is tantamount to cigarette company executives declaring that environmental pollution is the chief cause of cancer."

King charges head-on at NRA members again by saying:

"In the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings,” King writes, “gun advocates have to ask themselves if their zeal to protect even the outer limits of gun ownership have anything to do with preserving the Second Amendment as a whole, or if it’s just a stubborn desire to hold onto what they have, and to hell with the collateral damage."

"I have nothing against gun owners, sport shooters, or hunters,” King writes, but “how many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys? Do the murders have to be in the mall where you shop? In your own neighborhood? In your own family?" 

 He criticizes the National Rifle Association, the media (for knee-jerk coverage of school shootings) and politicians (for inaction). He also discusses why he pulled his novella Rage, about a teenage gunman, after it was linked to four shootings between 1988 and 1996. 

"I didn’t pull Rage from publication because the law demanded it; I was protected under the First Amendment and the law couldn’t demand it. I pulled it because in my judgement it might be hurting people, and that made it the responsible thing to do. Assault weapons will remain readily available to crazy people until the powerful pro-gun forces in this country decide to do a similar turnaround. They must accept responsibility, recognizing that responsibility is not the same asculpability. They need to say, “we support these measures not because the law demands we support them, but because it’s the sensible thing.”

Until that happens, shooting sprees will continue."

In the essay he does not apologize for righting Rage, but says that it acted as fuel for already broken children:

"My book did not break (them) or turn them into killers; they found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. Yet I did seeRage as a possible accelerant which is why I pulled it from sale. You don’t leave a can of gasoline where a boy with firebug tendencies can lay hands on it." 

 He also goes on to state that no one is out to take away our rights to own firearms, but that the fact that many think that they need need assault weapons that hold 40 or 50 rounds of ammunition solely to defend our homes is pathetic: "If you can't kill a home invader (or your wife, up in the middle of the night to get a snack from the fridge) with ten shots, you need to go back to the local shooting range."

Now I have yet to read Mr. King's essay, but I hope to do so soon. However if his essay is as solid as most articles state it as then I absolutely agree with King in all areas. The gun supporting lobby and the NRA needs to step up and realize the unnecessariness of the general public owning semi-automatic/assault weaponry and having over 10 rounds in your clip. If you can't take out a home invader within 10 shots then you need to spend more time at the range.