The frontman of the Eagles of Death Metal, the band that was performing at the Bataclan theatre in Paris when 90 people were murdered by terrorists last year, has argued for universal access to guns.
The Californian rock band was performing in front of a crowd of around 1,500 on the night of November 13th when three terrorists armed with assault rifles entered the room and began shooting and throwing hand grenades.
It was part of a series of terrorist attacks in Paris that night, that Islamic State later claimed responsibility for.
Vocalist-guitarist Jesse Hughes, who is a long-time advocate for access to gun ownership, told the French television station iTélé in a 19-minute, at times tearful interview on Monday that restrictions on guns in France had helped to enable the terrorists.
Asked if his views on gun control had changed after the terror attacks, he said gun control “doesn’t have anything to do with it”.
“Did your French gun control stop a single fucking person from dying at the Bataclan? 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.
“I know people will disagree with me, but it just seems like God made men and women, and that night guns made them equal,” he said. “And I hate it that it’s that way. I think the only way that my mind has been changed is that maybe that until nobody has guns everybody has to have them.
“Because I’ve never seen anyone that’s ever had one dead, and I want everyone to have access to them, and I saw people die that maybe could have lived, I don’t know.”
The Eagles of Death Metal will perform at Paris’ Olympia concert hall on Tuesday night, with soldiers and armed police standing guards and psychologists on hand to support traumatised fans. Survivors of the Bataclan massacre were given free invitations.
The Bataclan has not yet reopened, but its owners are hopeful it will host events “before the end of 2016”.
Hughes told iTélé that he felt he had “a sacred responsibility to finish this show”.
In an interview with Sweden’s TV4 on Sunday, Hughes remembered hearing gunfire coincide with “the very last note of the song – almost a diabolical synchronicity”.
“I knew exactly what was going on. I think I might have been the only person in the theatre who knew instantly.”
He went backstage to look for his partner Tuesday Cross, and saw a terrorist at the end of the hallway, holding a gun. “He didn’t see me. The door shut behind me and I was trying to back up, very sneaky – but he noticed me. And I thought I was dead.
“I waited for the shot to hit me. When he went to pull his rifle down, the barrel of his gun hit the doorframe, thank god. And when it hit the doorframe . . . I opened the door, and he started firing and his rounds shut the door behind me.”
Almost overcome by emotion, Hughes remembered the “beautiful” scenes he saw as people took care of one another in the Bataclan theatre.
“I know this sounds terrible, but . . . I didn’t see anyone do anything cowardly. I just saw people doing some of the most beautiful things that a person could do, and for lack of a better word to describe it, my friends died very beautifully. They died very well, with great courage.”
The Eagles of Death Metal are currently on tour, and will perform in Melbourne, Byron Bay, Sydney and Fremantle in March before heading to Europe via Canada.
(Guardian Service)