Eagles of Death Metal Frontman Jesse Hughes Takes Pro-Gun Stance After Paris Bataclan Attacks
Three months after the world was shaken when ISIS attacked several locations in Paris, one of the most famous survivors of the Bataclan theater massacre is speaking his mind regarding the next step. Jesse Hughes, the frontman of the band who was playing at the theater when the mass shooting broke out, Eagles of Death Metal, says the solution is getting everybody guns to fight terrorists.
According to The Guardian, Hughes, who is both the main vocalist and guitarist for the California band, reaffirmed his lifelong opinion on gun access. Speaking barely three month,s after the attacks that changed the world in a way that hadn't happened since 9/11, the rocker spoke of how much the attacks had saddened and angered him, explaining he was sure that things would have been different if everyone at the venue had been armed.
"Did your French gun control stop a single fucking person from dying at the Bataclan? And if anyone can answer yes, I'd like to hear it, because I don't think so," the singer told French TV station iTélé recently. "I think the only thing that stopped it was some of the bravest men that I've ever seen in my life charging head-first into the face of death with their firearms."
Hughes said that his views on access to firearms haven't changed after the horrific Bataclan experience, except for one thing: "maybe that until nobody has guns everybody has to have them."
In the past, Hughes has declared that, within the United States, he goes everywhere with a gun because he wants to "be prepared." He's also a strong supporter of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who famously called out France's strict gun control legislation after the early 2015 attacks on satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo, implying the country's laws were to blame.
The Eagles of Death Metal will perform in Paris once again this week, on the 9th district Olympia Theater. Those who survived the Bataclan attacks received free invitations to attend the concert.