Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has already spewed an anti-gun rant in the wake of a shooting at UNLV’s campus.
On Wednesday morning, a suspect started firing shots and killed three people. Additionally, one other victim remains in critical condition. Because of this heartbreaking development, the Rebels and Dayton Flyers canceled their men’s basketball game scheduled for Wednesday evening.
However, James did not cancel his obligation to the media to complain about why guns are the problem and must be taken away. The superstar was already in Las Vegas, since he and the Lakers are preparing for an In-Season Tournament semifinal matchup Thursday night.
Naturally, the media asked for the NBA’s most prominent social justice warrior for his response to the matter. While he did express justified frustration that three people tragically died, he once again turned this into a rant about how gun ownership in America is a problem.
“It goes back to what I said before about guns in America,” James said. “The ability to get a gun, the ability to do these things over and over and over, and there’s been no change is literally ridiculous. It makes no sense that we continue to lose innocent lives. The fact that we haven’t changed anything – it’s actually been a lot easier to own a firearm. It’s stupid.”
Ah, that’s just what I needed: an anti-gun rant from the world’s foremost authority on cultural matters.
LeBron James’ Claim Doesn’t Add Up With Reality
At multiple times in the past, James claimed that owning guns is a major problem. Not surprisingly, he thinks more gun laws are the solution.
I won’t dwell on that train of thought. Places like Chicago – a city with incredibly strict gun laws and an equally high gun murder rate – prove that that theory doesn’t work. However, I will examine his claim that it’s easier to get a gun than ever before.
Let’s wind the clock back to before the actual shooting. The perpetrator had to have gotten his gun from somewhere. Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, he obtained the firearm legally. How difficult would it have been to get the gun in Nevada?
According to World Population Review, Nevada’s gun ownership laws rank No. 17 in America. That means it’s easier to get a gun in 33 other states than Nevada. And yet, above-average gun laws didn’t stop this criminal from getting a gun and inflicting harm.
And that’s exactly the point. Laws never stop criminals from getting guns. And for all we know, he could have gotten the gun illegally, in which case the law was rendered inept. It’s human nature to find ways to get what we want if we desire it enough, regardless of whether we follow the law.
Just ask California. Despite having the strictest gun laws in the country, The Golden State experienced an uptick in mass shootings in 2023. No matter how many laws you place on guns, there will always be ways to get them illegally for those motivated enough.
Side note: if we don’t need guns to protect ourselves, why does James often have a full security detail follow him wherever he goes? The guy who wants to take away the best means of self-protection that Americans have seems to do a lot to make sure he’s safe from harm.
So James inappropriately used the death of these victims to push a narrative that more gun laws will eliminate shootings. But as we’ve seen time and time again, that’s not how it works.