Glenn Beck's NRA Speech

Glenn Beck Teaches Part of America’s History Like Never Before Using Guns in NRA Keynote Speech: ‘It Is the Man, Not the Gun’

That was the message Glenn Beck conveyed throughout his highly anticipated keynote speech at the 2013 NRA Convention on Saturday. He made that case using storied antique firearms as he taught America’s captivating history through guns. Make no mistake, the history behind some of the guns Beck handled on stage will blow you away.

One story about a particular shotgun, wielded by a “naked hippie” shooting at birds decades ago, seemed to have the most impact. Beck explained that after receiving a early morning call about the naked hippie shooting birds out of season, police in California arrested the said hippie and confiscated his WWII-era shotgun.

That man turned out to be a notoriously evil serial killer known to the world as Charles Manson. After his gun was taken away, he then turned to a knife to commit at least nine grisly murders with his cult group.

“Charlie Manson had his gun taken away. Charlie Manson didn’t use a gun. He killed with a knife,” Beck told a crowd of thousands at the George R. Brown Convention Center Saturday.

“We have to admit two things,” he added. “That weapons will always find their way into the hands of bad people, always…but we must declare this: that guns must remain in the hands of good people.”

Watch the highlights from Beck’s NRA speech below:

He told several other stories about antique firearms, including one about a New York police officer whose revolver was found in the rubble following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. While victims were running away from the horrific scene, heroes like Walter Weaver, a member of the NYPD and a lifetime NRA member, were running in.

After the towers fell and the nation mourned, Beck said, responders sifted through the rubble, and only found a small reminder of Walter Weaver. Beck then held up the revolver for the audience to see, calling it “a silent token of liberty.”

But Beck first brought out an antique rifle that was used by the U.S. the “first time we fought Muslim extremists” — the Barbary pirates. Beck said Thomas Jefferson warned that Muslim extremists are not going to go anywhere. The gun was later picked up and used by a Muslim extremist.

“So what is this gun, good or evil? It is nothing! A gun is only a reflection of the people that use it,” he declared.

Click to expand...