Rapper Ice-T Stands Up for Second Amendment

He's not exactly a poster child but apparently rapper and heavy metal singer Tracy Marrow (stage name Ice-T) is a supporter of gun rights.

In an interview with a British television channel, Marrow stood up for the Second Amendment saying that the right to bear arms is "the last form of defense against tyranny" and not merely for hunting. Video and transcript below.

As you might expect from the guy who wrote a song about killing rogue police officers, Marrow took things a step further than a typical Second Amendment supporter by framing his argument in terms of private citizens protecting themselves from law enforcement officials. "It’s to protect yourself from the police," he said.

(While that is true, the Second Amendment also exists to protect people from private citizen criminals and improper military actions as well.)

Marrow made his remarks in an interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy, an anchor with the British television station Channel 4.

Pressed further on the subject by a seemingly incredulous Guru-Murthy as to "why he's such a defender on the right to bear arms," Marrow continued his defense, making a good argument until right at the very end. Transcript and video below (h/t RealClearPolitics):

MARROW: Well, I'd give up my gun when everybody else does. (Smiles)

GURU-MURTHY: And does that--

MARROW: Doesn't that make sense? I mean if there were guns here, would you want to be the only person without one?

GURU-MURTHY: So do you carry guns routinely? Do you have a gun at home?

MARROW: Yeah, it's legal in the United States. It's part of our constitution. You know, the right to bear arms, it's becausethat’s the last form of defense against tyranny. Not to hunt. It’s to protect yourself from the police.

GURU-MURTHY: And do you see any link between that and these sorts of instances?

MARROW: No. Not really, if you know what I'm saying. If somebody really wants to kill people, they don’t need a gun to do it.

GURU-MURTHY: Makes it easier though, doesn’t it?

MARROW: Not really. You can strap explosives on your body. They do that all the time.

GURU-MURTHY: So when there's the inevitable backlash of the anti-gun lobby as a result of this incident, as there always is--

MARROW: Well that's not going to change anything in the United States.

GURU-MURTHY: It's not going to change?

MARROW: No, the United States is based on guns. Like KRS [rapper KRS-One] says, you'll never have justice on stolen land. So it's not going to change.