R.I.P. 1924-2008Charlton Heston passed away recently, after suffering from Alzheimer's for many years. Heston's list of cinematic achievements is pretty impressive. My personal favorites are Omega Man, Planet of the Apes, and, of course, Soylent Green. I didn't agree with a lot of Heston's culturally conservative values, but I certainly supported his unwavering support for the NRA. While I'm generally critical of celebrities in politics, Heston was the spokesman for the NRA when 2nd Amendment rights were under serious threat.
Back before the days of 9/11, there was mounting political pressure to heavily restrict gun ownership (despite the fact that it's pretty clear in the Bill of Rights). This culminated with the Million Mom March back in 2000, which was orchestrated by one of Hillary's friends and got mired in significant tax-evasion controversy. The efforts to portray gun owners as brain-dead hicks and to blame crime on, not the criminals, but the weapons they chose to use was gaining significant steam. Charlton Heston did a good job educating the public on, not just the use of firearms for hunting purposes, but how the curtailment of gun rights was frequently employed in history by tyrannical regimes (Stalin's Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, etc.) At the time, I was living in Los Angeles in a neighborhood that wasn't exactly the safest place in America. I was under 21, so by California's draconian laws I couldn't own a handgun, and getting a concealed weapons permit would have required some sort of pact with the devil. Meanwhile, criminals (who gun laws don't apply to) were on the streets wreaking havoc. Charlton Heston's beliefs represented a very good employment of common sense in a nation where some would want it's citizens to be unarmed sheep. So, thanks, Mr. Heston.
Soylent Green... It's People Damnit!
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