Eagles of Death Metal Frontman Says More Guns Could Have Prevented Bataclan Attack

Surviving a terrorist affects people in untold ways—particularly if you’re Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes and the attack took place at your concert. Per NME, Hughes made some strong statements against gun control in an interview with French outlet iTélé ahead of the band’s return to Paris tonight.

“Did your French gun control stop a single fucking person from dying at the Bataclan?” he asked. “And if anyone can answer yes, I’d like to hear it, because I don’t think so. I think the only thing that stopped it was some of the bravest men that I’ve ever seen in my life charging head-first into the face of death with their firearms.”

He went on to deliver perhaps the logical extreme of gun advocates’ thought: “Maybe, until nobody has guns, everybody should have them.”

We’re not comfortable with the idea of absolutely everyone at a concert being armed. Sure, terrorists might be subdued, but how many petty disputes over spilled drinks, standing in others’ sight lines, and mosh pit madness would it take for a gun to be drawn at some point regardless? Then what happens? If Grand Theft Auto teaches us anything, it’s that “all citizens armed” is a potential recipe for chaos.