Featured EXCLUSIVE: Tim Kennedy’s Gun Control Statement, Clarified? Patrick Roberts April 30, 2018 11 Comments, Join the Conversation At RECOIL, we review every product fairly and without bias. Making a purchase through one of our links may earn us a small commission, and helps support independent gun reviews. Learn More Editor's Note: Today we ask Tim Kennedy to explain the position he took on an international podcast back in March, when he declared there should be additional age restrictions for Americans to own so-called assault weapons. In today's conversation, Kennedy reframes his statements and characterizes them as an effort to meet the opposition in the middle. Read, listen, and engage in a conversation about it. -Dave Merrill For those of you in the dark, Tim Kennedy, a former member of the US Special Operations community, renowned MMA fighter, and self defense instructor, made a statement about gun control during a podcast with Lance Armstrong that has the gun rights community in an uproar. The conversation that caused the outrage was spurred by Armstrong bringing up Kennedy's proximity to the Parkland High School at the time of the shooting while in Flordia for filming. Rather than summarize the podcast, we urge you to listen to it in its entirety. When the podcast reached the firearm community, gun rights supporters had a lot to say about Kennedy's statements supporting a restriction on young adult's access to firearms. We figured we'd give the guy a chance to explain the rational behind his statements. Here some salient points from my phone conversation with Kennedy over the weekend. Tim Kennedy: “Who knows how many tens of thousands of people that listen to that podcast came from such a far hateful side of this conversation to maybe a middle ground that maybe now we can have a realistic, a real, safe conversation about how the second amendment should be protected, and how gun rights should be protected. So that, that was the intent of my position.” — RECOIL: “The thing that I was curious about specifically because I’d like to give you an opportunity to clearly state your position about age limits, specifically.” TK: “Why does my position on age limits matter?” — R: “I don’t think anybody is questioning your belief in the second amendment. Um, I think that, again, specifically that people are upset about…” TK: “I don’t care what they are upset about, they should get their fucking panties out of their pussies and they should start focusing on keeping their guns and winning conversations that we’re losing. They should stop attacking people that are on their side and they should start focusing on the people that disagree with them and learning how to understand what their perspective is and then winning them over. That’s what they should start doing. That is what they should start doing. I’m not avoiding your question. I will answer [unintelligible] and I already have that everybody, every law-abiding citizen should be able to have access to every single fucking firearm. If that doesn’t answer your question as to an age limit, then go fuck yourself. You gotta figure it out. Cause that’s a blanket coverage of everything. Period. But winning the conversation is what we need to be talking about and what we should be doing and that’s what I’m doing, and I’m not going to get any more specific than that.” — R: “Tim, if people are upset about something that you said, it’s hard to have that conversation among the gun community. It’s hard for me to present your side to them if I can say ‘Hey, guys, like he’s not against us. This is what he was trying to do. This is how he feels about that particular statement. Unless I can tell people that, like I can’t –” TK: “Should an 18-year old have an AR? Yes. Should Tim Kennedy at 19 should have been able to have an AR? No. I was not a law… I was not a law-abiding citizen, I was a little piece of shit. And that's what I said in the interview. So when I say that I stand by every single word that I say, I do. I'm not going to go back and disagree with anything I've ever said. Do I think that every single law-abiding American citizen should have the right to bear arms? Absolutely. That's an open statement. That doesn't mean 18, that doesn't mean 16.” Tim further elaborated his position in a social media post after I spoke with him. What do you think? Does this clarify Kennedy's statments on gun rights and gun control? In the video below, we interviewed Kennedy to gain clarity on his stance of gun control: Explore RECOILweb:Safety Notice: Compass Bolt Action Rifle RecallSkeleton Optics and Multicam Partner UpPreview - Heckler & Koch VP9 Striker-Fired 9mm PistolThe Second Amendment - you can defend it, but you cannot practice it NEXT STEP: Download Your Free Target Pack from RECOILFor years, RECOIL magazine has treated its readers to a full-size (sometimes full color!) shooting target tucked into each big issue. Now we've compiled over 50 of our most popular targets into this one digital PDF download. From handgun drills to AR-15 practice, these 50+ targets have you covered. Print off as many as you like (ammo not included). Get your pack of 50 Print-at-Home targets when you subscribe to the RECOIL email newsletter. We'll send you weekly updates on guns, gear, industry news, and special offers from leading manufacturers - your guide to the firearms lifestyle.You want this. Trust Us.
18 year olds shouldn’t be allowed to own AR15’s, unless your fighting in the Middle East for Israel and Exxon kicking in doors of poor peoples homes and shooting kids, err, TERRORISTS with them. -Tim Kennedy, Re*ard
His statements on the podcast are repugnant enough, but what I really hate is the fact that he then tries to gaslight us with this fake-ass "clarification." Sorry Tim, you can't say "gun control is a massive solution" and then say "I am pro second amendment in every way." Those are mutually exclusive. We're not stupid, so stop acting as though we are. And then he has the nerve call folks pussies and cowards for finding his statements unacceptable. Fuck this guy. It's pretty clear the "murica shootin" thing is a grift for old TK (see also Black Rifle Coffee) and that this guy will talk out both sides of his mouth depending on who's listening.
Exactly. He says he was trying to win Lance Armstrong and his followers over by speaking their language, but he can't do that by giving up his principles, if he has any principles. The only gun law we need is the Second Amendment.
What a d-bag blowhard. Instead of owning up to what he said he goes on a juvenile tirade. No one should be paying any attention to this grifter, there are plenty of actual 2A supporters out there who don't undermine gun rights.
There is no winning with liberals, you give an inch, and they take a mile. That's it, they will never be happy until all firearms are gone. So now, don't learn their conversation and meet in the middle, because they move the goal post every time afterwards.
Dave, you do not understand the word "regulated" in the Second Amendment. What did "well-regulated" mean in 1789? Well-equipped, well-trained, ready. As in British Regulars. They were the uniformed army. Look it up.