Michael Moore's Bodyguard Arrested on Airport Gun Charge
Filmmaker Michael Moore's (search) bodyguard was arrested for carrying an unlicensed weapon in New York's JFK airport Wednesday night.
Police took Patrick Burke, who says Moore employs him, into custody after he declared he was carrying a firearm at a ticket counter. Burke is licensed to carry a firearm in Florida and California, but not in New York. Burke was taken to Queens central booking and could potentially be charged with a felony for the incident.
Moore's 2003 Oscar-winning film "Bowling for Columbine" criticizes what Moore calls America's "culture of fear" and its obsession with guns.
Michael Moore: ‘Calm Down, White People, and Put Away Your Guns’
(CNSNews.com) – Documentary-maker and liberal activist Michael Moore said the reason for mass shootings in the United States is largely due to fear and racism, and on Christmas Eve he pleaded, “calm down, white people, and put away your guns.”
In a blog post entitled “Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns,” while still calling for stricter gun-control laws, Moore said such laws will not stop mass killings because of “who we are” as a nation.
“We are a country whose leaders officially sanction and carry out acts of violence as a means to often an immoral end,” Moore said. “We invade countries who didn't attack us. We're currently using drones in a half-dozen countries, often killing civilians.”
“This probably shouldn't come as a surprise to us as we are a nation founded on genocide and built on the backs of slaves,” said Moore, a multi-millionaire filmmaker with an estimated worth of $50 million.
Three things, according to Moore, make America unique in its violence: poverty, “fear/racism,” and the “me society.”
“We're an awfully fearful country considering that, unlike most nations, we've never been invaded,” he said. “Why on earth would we need 300 million guns in our homes?”
“I get why the Russians might be a little spooked (over 20 million of them died in World War II). But what's our excuse?” Moore said. “Worried that the Indians from the casino may go on the warpath? Concerned that the Canadians seem to be amassing too many Tim Horton's donut shops on both sides of the border?”
“No. It's because too many white people are afraid of black people,” he said. “Period.”
Moore continued: “The vast majority of the guns in the U.S. are sold to white people who live in the suburbs or the country. When we fantasize about being mugged or home invaded, what's the image of the perpetrator in our heads? Is it the freckled-face kid from down the street – or is it someone who is, if not black, at least poor?”
“I think it would be worth it to a) do our best to eradicate poverty and re-create the middle class we used to have, and b) stop promoting the image of the black man as the boogeyman out to hurt you,” he said.
“Calm down, white people, and put away your guns,” said Moore.
Gun control has become a dominant news story since the shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. President Barack Obama and Democrats have since called for stricter laws. House Democrats have proposed a bill that would ban high-capacity gun clips of 10 rounds or more.
In his blog, Moore said that Connecticut’s tough gun laws “did nothing to prevent” Adam Lanza from killing 20 children and 6 others at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Tough gun laws “won't really bring about an end to these mass slayings and it will not address the core problem we have,” Moore said. “Connecticut had one of the strongest gun laws in the country. That did nothing to prevent the murders of 20 small children on December 14th.”
He said a “dirty little fact” liberals do not want to discuss is that the “killer only ceased his slaughter when he saw that cops were swarming onto the school grounds – i.e, the men with the guns.”
“When he saw the guns a-coming, he stopped the bloodshed and killed himself,” Moore said of Lanza. “Guns on police officers prevented another 20 or 40 or 100 deaths from happening.”
“Guns sometimes work,” he said.
Despite those views, Moore supports stricter gun-control laws in the wake of the massacre, including a ban on “automatic AND semiautomatic weapons” and magazine clips that hold more than seven rounds.
“These gun massacres aren't going to end any time soon,” he said.
“I'm sorry to say this,” he said. “But deep down we both know it's true. That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep pushing forward – after all, the momentum is on our side.”
“We need a ban on automatic AND semiautomatic weapons and magazine clips that hold more than 7 bullets,” Moore added. “We need better background checks and more mental health services. We need to regulate the ammo, too.”
In Connecticut, residents must apply for a local permit to buy a gun, have their fingerprints taken, and submit to a state and federal background check with a 14-day waiting period. A gun safety course is required to buy a handgun. The state is also one of seven that has an assault weapons ban.
Gun sales have soared since the massacre, including in Connecticut whereretailers are selling three times more guns than a year ago.
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