Gun Maker Cuts Ties with Liam Neeson after Anti-gun Rant
OutdoorHub Reporters 01.20.15
PARA USA, an American firearms manufacturer that provided the weapons for the recent film Taken 3, has announced that they will no longer work with actor Liam Neeson or any films he will be attached to in the future, as well as encouraging other industry partners to do so as well. The announcement followed the actor’s recent rant on American gun control laws in the wake of the terror shooting in Paris, France.
‘There’s just too many [expletive] guns out there,’ said Neeson in a press conference. “‘Especially in America. I think the population is like, 320 million? There’s over 300 million guns. Privately owned, in America.”
Neeson went on to add that the number of guns in America was a “disgrace.” Yet his critics pointed out that Neeson’s film career was punctuated by violence on-screen, especially in his most recent film Taken 3 where Neeson returns to his role as former CIA operative Bryan Mills. Yet the Irish-born actor, who now resides in New York City, draws a distinction between his often gun-toting image in movies and his personal beliefs.
“A character like Bryan Mills going out with guns and taking revenge: it’s fantasy,” he told the Daily Mail. “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!'”
Understandably, Neeson’s comments have drawn ire from gun rights advocates and manufacturers. You can see the announcement from PARA USA below:
