Ever since the shooting of Christina Grimmie and the massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando which left 50 dead, the topic of guns has been a hot-button issue in the national and international conversation.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Tom Araya decided to jump in and offer his opinion on guns at a Slayer show earlier this week in Pratteln, Switzerland (which has a high gun ownership). Tom started by saying:
"Is it true that every household has to own a rifle or a gun? No? I thought everybody was supposed to have a rifle or a gun in their home. It's not right? How else are you gonna defend your country?"
Where you are in the world, you need to protect yourselves. Not from each other, but from invaders. And you know what I'm talking about, right? You should be aware of your invaders — people that come here to do you harm. It's not right. You should be able to protect and defend your country. That's the way it should be everywhere. 'Cause when you don't have anything to protect yourself or your fellow countrymen, what happens? People fucking die. They do! Don't they? Yeah. Did you see it going on?"
"I'm not gonna name names, but you can see what's going on in other countries. 'Cause they can't protect themselves. And that's what I'm talking about: being able to protect yourself and your fellow countrymen and your fucking country. I'm being serious, man. This isn't a fucking joke. You know, it really sucks to know that other people die, because you can't protect them. That fucking sucks."
There were recent studies that showed that having a gun in the home greatly increases the risk of harm to yourself and your family through accidents – so if this is something you consider, it is important to be knowledgable about how you use the weapon. There are of course varying opinions on the topic, as Araya has shown.
Here is the video of the unexpected monologue:
Where do you stand on gun control?
