Joe Rogan Says Gun Reform Would Be Stupid Because Then Only ‘Criminals’ Will Have Weapons

Joe Rogan has lashed out at calls for gun reform only days after the Texas school shooting that killed 19 children and two school teachers.

The podcaster argued that if the government takes away America's firearms then only criminals would have guns.

"It’s like, how do you stop that? No one knows how to stop that," he asked during an interview with scientist Lex Fridman on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

"What is the answer? Is the answer to take everyone’s guns? Well, they’re not gonna give their guns up. Only criminals are gonna have guns. It’s not gonna be a good situation."

After declaring 'no one knows how to stop' gun violence, he then wondered about the cost of protecting children at school instead of simply just banning guns.

"Is the answer to make schools these armoured compounds, where you have armed guards outside of every school dressed like it’s a military?" he asked.

"What do you do to protect the children? And how many dollars is that going to cost?"

Rogan doubled down on his position on gun reform, telling Fridman that he doesn't think it is smart 'to take all the guns away from people and give all the power to the government'.

"We see how they are with an armed populace, they still have a tendency towards totalitarianism," he said.

"And the more increased power and control you have over people, the easier it is for them to do what they do."

In 2022, there have been more shootings at American schools than days in the year.

The latest horror attack - the worst tragedy on a school since 2012's Sandy Hook - has rocked America and the world, leading the US President, celebrities, and the general public to call for gun reform.

While Rogan might not think banning guns would work, Australia certainly proved that it does.

Guns were banned Down Under following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. 

Then-Aussie Prime Minister John Howard decided to overhaul the country's gun laws in the wake of the mass shooting in Tasmania, where 35 people died.

It took Howard only a few days to reform legislation in agreement with Aussie states and territories. Unsurprisingly, since implementing stricter gun laws, Australia has had almost no mass shootings.

Following the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, many took to Twitter calling for the US to replicate Australia's move to ban assault rifles.

One person wrote: "Today, I was at the site where tragedy changed Australia’s gun laws…and I can’t understand why the U.S. won’t change either."

Featured Image Credit: Joe Rogan/Twitter. ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo.

Topics: Crime, Politics, US News, Joe Rogan

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist