“Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander will always be known as the funny, bone-headed “George Constanza” to his fans. But the world is viewing the comedic actor in a new light after he turned to Twitter this weekend to share his thoughts on gun control in the United States.
Prompted by Friday’s tragic theatre shooting in Aurora Colo., the 52-year-old star released a lengthy tweet using TwitLonger Sunday, calling for stronger gun laws and a ban on assault-style weapons in the U.S.
Alexander’s scholarly treatise came as a surprising followup to a tweet he had issued on July 21.
“I cannot understand support for legality of the kind of weapon in this massacre. It’s a military weapon.why should it be in non-mil hands?” wrote @IJasonAlexander.
That tweet prompted a flurry of reactions from online readers, many of whom lashed out at Alexander for his for his remarks.
That response lead to Alexander’s lengthy tweet on Sunday, which criticized gun activists who claim that gun regulations would violate their Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.
“I’d like to preface this long tweet by saying that my passion comes from my deepest sympathy and shared sorrow with yesterday’s victims and with the utmost respect for the people and the police/fire/medical/political forces of Aurora and all who seek to comfort and aid these victims,” Alexander tweeted.
The actor then went on to share his views on the assault-style weapons currently available in the U.S., such as the AR-15 which were allegedly used by James Holmes to kill 12 people and gun down 58 others at the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” last week in Aurora, Colo.
“There is no excuse for the propagation of these weapons,” Alexander tweeted.
“They are not guaranteed or protected by our constitution. If they were, then we could all run out and purchase a tank, a grenade launcher, a bazooka, a SCUD missile and a nuclear warhead. We could stockpile napalm and chemical weapons and bomb-making materials in our cellars under our guise of being a militia. These weapons are military weapons. They belong in accountable hands, controlled hands and trained hands,” Alexander said.
Alexander’s highbrow essay did not stop there.
The actor challenged today’s gun activists, many of whom were incensed by his earlier tweet.
“Clearly, the angry, threatened and threatening, hostile comments are coming from gun owners and gun advocates,” Alexander wrote.
“Despite these massacres recurring and despite the 100,000 Americans that die every year due to domestic gun violence -- these people see no value to even considering some kind of control as to what kinds of weapons are put in civilian hands,” he said.
Alexander also challenged the notion that carrying a gun is an act of patriotism in the United States -- an argument frequently espoused by the Tea Party.
“The patriots are correct, gun ownership is in the constitution – if you’re in a well-regulated militia,” Alexander tweeted.
However, according to Alexander that is not the case for most most gun advocates living in 21st century America.
Finally, Alexander equated gun law “absolutists” with terrorists, and denounced those factions that believe they alone are correct with regards to U.S. gun laws.
“They hold the only truth, everyone else is dangerous. Ever meet a terrorist that doesn't believe that? Just asking,” Alexander tweeted.
The actor’s Twitter response to the Colorado mass-shooting is one of the most impassioned pleas to be made concerning the gun control debate in the U.S.
But Alexander is not the only high-profile American to have made headlines recently with their view on gun laws.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is one of several politicians who recently slammed America’s legislature for not doing more to control firearms before Friday’s shooting in Colorado.
