By Meghan Kiesel

Jul 23, 2012 11:24am

‘Seinfeld’ Star Jumps Into Assault Weapon Debate

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Image credit: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

Jason Alexander of “Seinfeld” fame has weighed in on the conversation surrounding gun control laws in light of the shooting in Aurora, Colo., last Friday. The debate over gun control has flared up following the tragic Aurora theater shooting on July 20, in which suspect James Holmes allegedly killed 12 and injured 58 when he opened fire on a crowded movie theater with several weapons, including an assault rifle.

Alexander released a long “tweet’ using TwitLonger, which allows users far more than the allotted 140 characters, to share his thoughts on gun control following the massacre. His treatise in the world of Twitter has divided users, some backing his argument and some launching into attacks on the actor, one user calling him “dumber than George Constanza,” his famously dense “Seinfeld” character.

On July 21, Alexander, an actor and outspoken liberal, tweeted the following:

@IJasonAlexander:I cannot understand support for legality of the kind of weapon in this massacre. It’s a military weapon.why should it be in non- mil hands?

The initial tweet received an flurry of responses, leading Alexander on Sunday to expand on his views via TwitLonger. In an extensive argument, Alexanderlashed out at gun activists who claim that gun regulation violates their Second Amendment rights.

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Alexander argued that the Second Amendment lays out the right to bear arms for those in regulated militias alone, not for private citizens, writing, “The advocates of guns who claim patriotism and the rights of the 2nd Amendment – are they in well-regulated militias? For the vast majority – the answer is no.”

The actor warned of what he calls “absolutists,” a term which he uses to describe “ideologues from both sides, but mostly from the far right who swear allegiance to unelected officials … that are to obstruct every possible act of governance, even the ones they support or initiate. Whose political and social goal is to marginalize the other side, vilify and isolate them with the hope that they will surrender, go away or die out.”

Alexander goes on to equate these absolutists with terrorists, as they believe “they hold the only truth, everyone else is dangerous. Ever meet a terrorist that doesn’t believe that? Just asking.”

He finishes by saying that there is “no excuse” for the lack of regulation surrounding assault rifles, and that while stricter laws “will not prevent any tragedy,” that “we certainly have done ourselves no good by allowing these particular weapons to be acquired freely by just about anyone.”

Alexander’s response to the Colorado tragedy is the most recent in a line of arguments surrounding the issue of gun control. Some politicians, such asPennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, have slammed the legislature for not doing more on firearms control prior to the tragedy, while others say now is not the time to press the issue, as the outcry has come from politicos, not citizens themselves.

Regardless of the debate, it seems unlikely that gun control reform will come to the forefront over the next few months, as the White House recentlyindicated a reluctance to revise existing regulations.





Ever meet a terrorist that doesn’t believe that? Just asking.”


Ever meet a loud-mouthed liberal doesn't believe that? Just asking."