Gun Owners Must Condemn And Reject Ja Morant's Thuggish And Irresponsible Behavior: Hookstead

All gun owners should be totally against Ja Morant's foolish and irresponsible behavior with firearms.

The Memphis Grizzlies star is, once again, suspended for a gun incident after he flashed a handgun on an IG Live stream.

At one point of the incident, it appeared Ja Morant had the gun pointed at his own head. How stupid can he be?

Ja Morant suspended after latest gun incident. (Credit: Screenshot/Twitter Video https://twitter.com/shannonsharpeee/status/1657721374075670528)

Morant had previously been suspended after he brandished a handgun in a Colorado strip club. The young NBA star is also accused of being in a vehicle where someone might have threatened members of the Pacers, and he's accused of possibly brandishing a weapon at a teenager during a pickup basketball game.

That's four different allegations involving guns in the past year for Ja Morant. If you value guns and love the Second Amendment, you must reject his thuggish behavior.

Ja Morant makes gun owners look terrible.

Let me start by saying that I own guns, use guns, have been licensed to carry a gun and love the Second Amendment. I could hit a soda can from 100 yards with a Ruger 10/22 before I was in sixth grade. And I find gun control so stupid that I completely and totally support the repeal of the 1934 National Firearms Act.

Do not take anything I'm saying here as anti-Second Amendment or anti-gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's my deep respect and passion for the Second Amendment and the right to own guns that I'm so appalled by Ja Morant's behavior.

There's nothing that upsets gun owners more than idiots who misuse firearms. It draws justified scrutiny and backlash that then spreads to responsible people who have done nothing wrong.

Let's be crystal clear. The overwhelming majority of people who own and carry guns will NEVER do anything wrong. People who act up with guns are in the extreme minority, but their actions are then used to tarnish and hammer everyone who has guns. Look at the reaction to every major shooting in America. The reaction is never focused on just the shooter. The conversation always turns to gun owners as a whole.

That's why gun owners have to condemn and reject Ja Morant's unbelievably stupid behavior. By not condemning him, we leave the door open for criticism. Gun owners must police their own far stricter than the anti-gun crowd. They already hate gun owners and always will. It's on gun owners to lead the way to stamp out idiots like Ja Morant and make it clear he doesn't have anything to do with the rest of us who are responsible.

Police are investigating Ja Morant’s gun video. (Credit: Getty Images and Twitter video)

Morant is desperate to be a thug, and it's pathetic.

One of the worst aspects of the Ja Morant situation is he is fulfilling every stereotype about fake tough guys that gun owners absolutely despise.

Anti-gun people love to claim gun owners own guns because we want to feel tough, and the real dumb anti-gun fanatics always try to draw comparisons to penis size. It's never made sense. Females are the fastest growing gun ownership demographic in America. Do women own guns because they're worried about penis size? Of course not.

However, the reality is there are some clowns out there who think they're tough guys or thugs simply because they have a gun.

It's embarrassing, pathetic and detached from reality. That's the group Ja Morant is in. He thinks because he throws on a rap song or goes to a strip club, he's tough because he has a gun. Not at all.

Having a gun might make you potentially lethal, it damn sure doesn't make you tough, smart or a gunfighter. How do I know? I know plenty of people who have killed people in combat in defense of freedom using just about every gun you can think of.

They don't hop on Instagram Live and flash guns to prove how tough or dangerous they are. They live in the suburbs, raise families, take great pride in America and by all accounts, appear to be normal dudes.....right until the moment it's time to flip the switch.

That's what makes Ja Morant's delusion of being a thug so comical. Having a gun doesn't mean anything other than you have a gun. Holding a football doesn't mean anything other than you have one. It doesn't mean you can throw it with a tight spiral.

Whether it's flashing a gun in a strip club or doing it in a car, Ja Morant is desperate to use a gun to prove he's a thug. In reality, he's just proving he's a child who would piss his pants if he ended up in a gunfight with actual killers. He wouldn't get that thing out of its holster before he was dead if he flashed it at someone who knew what they were doing. It'd be over before it was even on.

Ja Morant suspended after latest gun incident. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Ja Morant thinks guns are props for his fantasy.

Most gun owners have weapons for self-defense, sporting purposes, hunting and God forbid, a Red Dawn situation unfolds, to defend America. Ja Morant has a gun because it's a prop in the thug fantasy he's playing out.

That simply can't be tolerated. If you're in public and your gun is out of its holster, there better be a rock solid reason for it to be going off. Anyone who carries a gun in public will tell you that's the standard. Cops don't just unholster their weapons for fun. People with concealed carry permits don't flash guns for social media. If it's coming out, there better be a damn good reason for it to be going off.

Meanwhile, Ja Morant thinks his life is a music video that requires guns no matter the setting. Whether it's allegedly at a pickup basketball game or a Colorado strip club, Morant doesn't actually respect weapons at all. They're not deadly items to him. They're toys that make him look tough. They're a crucial part of his thug fantasy.

Gun owners must reject Ja Morant's behavior. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

I think weapons are meant to take a life in the worst scenarios imaginable, but it's not something I'd ever hope for. Guns aren't something I think are toys and no other gun owner I know thinks so either. Life isn't a movie. It's not a rap music video. Bullets and guns change lives forever. The smell of blood and guts after bullets have shredded a body is something that sticks with you forever, per people I know who have done it.

Does anyone think Ja Morant understands that? Absolutely not. He'd urinate in his jeans if a bullet ever came in his direction. Of course, he won't admit that because it goes against his thug persona.

Ja Morant has a serious issue with guns. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

It's time for Ja Morant to put the guns down, focus on basketball and his contract. At the same time, gun owners must vocally reject his thuggish and stupid behavior. We can't let his antics become fuel to the fire for people who look for any reason to trash the Second Amendment and gun owners. We are not the same. He's a fake gangster, and the rest of us are law-abiding citizens who love the Bill of Rights, guns and this country. Do not think for a second there's overlap.