Yes, it is who you think it is. The star of Full Metal Jacket was a speaker at the Great American Outdoor Show. I couldn’t believe it myself when I found out he was the main speaker on one of the days I was going to be there.
The opening of his speech was, to no surprise, the opening speech of Full Metal Jacket—"I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman..." Believe it or not, he did the speech without any swear words! (He kept it clean for the sake of the little ones.)
Gunny went on to talk about guns, hunting and the Second Amendment—which he covered in full. For starters, Ermey is a big fan of guns, which is manifest in his statement that he has “over 100 guns in my house.” Specifically, he is a huge Glock supporter since he is their spokesperson. However, aside from Glock, his number one gun is the M1 Garand. He absolutely loves it.
Since he is a proud lover of guns, it comes as no surprise that as well as being a spokesperson for Glock, he is an NRA Board member too. He said, “Glock and the NRA are why I’m here today,” and further stated, “You can certainly be proud of this show.”
Having served 12 years in the Marines, he fully supports the Second Amendment and states, “The NRA has got it right. Guns do not kill people, people kill people.” He grew up with guns on a farm in Kansas and then passed that knowledge onto his six children.
R. Lee Ermey is a true American hero who believes hard work will get you anywhere, and that all Americans should exhibit this.
It certainly was a pleasure listening to him speak, and if there is one piece of advice you should take from him, that would be that you “need to come to this show.”
