GOD, GUNS, & ROCK ’N’ ROLL by Ted Nugent, Regnery Publishing, Washington, DC 20001, 2000, 315 pp, $25, ISBN: 0-89526-173-1.

Review by Del Meyer, MD

When I received this book, I almost declined the review. I was aware of the public debate on the evils of gun ownership. I was also aware that communism could never have overtaken Russia or China if guns had not been eliminated in the populace. I also knew that almost everyone in Switzerland carries a gun, including students; yet it is the world’s safest society. Aberrations such as the Columbine School massacre are unrelated to gun control; the students had already broken 19 gun control laws. Subsequent evaluation of the families of Eric and Dylan revealed the near absence of the highest form of caring - discipline. These parents felt they were not allowed to even enter their children’s bedrooms. The liberal contention for the need of another gun control law was to control society rather than save human lives. Gun control legislation gave these students the time needed to taunt and kill their captors slowly. They knew no one else would have guns. As David Horowitz wrote in Politics of Bad Faith (see Medical Sentinel Book Reviews, Nov 2000), the left is at war with the basic structures of society and, since we don’t appreciate this, it makes them even more dangerous. The left think they can bring heaven on earth with the power of Congressional lawmaking that often included regulations devised by the HHS, CDC, HCFA, FBI, BATF, FDA, even the Supreme Court, but unrelated to congressional intent or constitutional constraints.

Now comes Ted Nugent, a Rock ‘n’ Roll star, who, in total defiance of the liberal left agenda, emblazons God & Guns on the title of his book. His frontispiece is Genesis 9:3: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you," and Genesis 27:3: "Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out and take me some venison."

Before he delves into acquiring his venison with his bow and arrow, followed by standard hunting practices, he rocks into saving an off-duty police officer with a weapon concealed in the small of his back. The story unfolds as he is taking his wife Shemane to their tenth anniversary dinner in a cab. As they stand beside the cab, a green Chevy truck "rocks and rolls" to a stop, angled across the congested traffic. Two muscled men jump out yelling outrage at the occupant of a silver Japanese car. Nugent, always in "Condition Yellow" (relaxed awareness), is jolted into "Condition Orange." He opens the cab door, shoving his wife behind it next to the wheel, the best bullet- stopping shield available and speed dials 911 on his cell phone. Entering "Condition Red," he yells at the taxi driver to get down. As he observes the off-duty Dade County policeman struggling to control his stainless .357 magnum, he yells to the dispatcher, "A PLAINCLOTHES POLICE OFFICER IS BEING ASSAULTED BY TWO SHIRTLESS CAUCASIAN MEN ON THE EAST CURBSIDE OF NORTHBOUND COLLINS AVENUE AT THE ROYAL HOTEL DRIVEWAY. THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR THE POLICEMAN’S GUN. MY NAME IS TED NUGENT, AND I AM A SPECIAL DEPUTY FROM GENESSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I AM SIX FOOT TWO, CAUCASIAN, WEARING SHORTS, A YELLOW SLEEVELESS SHIRT, I HAVE A LONG PONYTAIL, I AM ARMED AND GOING IN TO HELP THE OFFICER. SEND POLICE AND AN AMBULANCE IMMEDIATELY."

He continues to proudly describe his control of the situation. "In nonstop motion, I flipped my Motorola cell phone shut, instructed Shemane to stay behind the wheel . . . made sure my Glock Model 20, 10-mm handgun was clear and forward on my right hip. . . whipped open my sheriff’s badge. . . and charged forcefully into the melee like a mother grizzly sow protecting her cubs. I could taste rage, fear, blood, and terror. I was 190 pounds of broiling adrenaline. All systems . . . Full Bluntal Nugenty. The Motor City Madman in his prime. . . My vision was a laser beam . . . my eyes riveted on the spinning silver handgun. My mind set was ridiculously clear. If the two assailants got control of the cop’s gun, I would be ready and obligated to use my law enforcement training in the use of deadly force to neutralize the threat and save the officer’s life and other innocent lives. So with flame-throwing eyeballs wider and wilder than my Cat Scratch Fever album cover photo. . . I yelled at the top of my petrified lungs, ‘STOP, POLICE! GET THE F... BACK, POLICE!!!’nearly shoving my badge clean through the face of the closest guy. To my utter astonishment and relief, both perpetrators actually ceased their aggression, let go of the cop, put up their hands, and backed away from their fallen, bloody victim. At that moment a covey of uniformed officers converged on the scene from all directions . . . like killer bees and immediately and conclusively took control. . . . All responding officers were wildly aggressive with the two perps, slamming them violently onto the hoods of the patrol cars, three on one. They handcuffed them and shoved them into the police cars. A virtual whitewater rapids of adrenaline still ran amok. I stuck around just long enough to give a long, hyperventilated, and detailed statement to one of the officers. Then Shemane and I celebrated our tenth anniversary as calmly and enjoyably as could be expected after such an intense adrenaline-infested experience. . . Without the Glock loaded and ready with sixteen rounds of Cor-Bon ammo riding ever ready in my Galco holster, I would have been as helpless as the rest of the defenseless public standing by without a clue. To my mind, it is totally irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. . . Only a coward would want fewer good guys with guns on the streets in today’s world. . . . When President Bill Clinton talks about putting 100,000 new cops on the streets, but refuses to allow millions of dedicated, trained law enforcement and licensed citizen warriors to carry guns legally across the country, the writing is on the wall. . . . Criminals celebrate when politicians clear the path for their destructive ways."

Nugent "Rocks" from one massacre to another pointing out how one armed citizen could have prevented the Columbine School massacre, and many other tragedies, where up to 22 innocent citizens were killed. Although Nugent uses words that are coarse and in the vernacular, he makes a forceful point that is difficult to refute. It does create a balance for what we read in the daily press. He points out the importance of instruction to family members, relatives, and school children in gun safety.

For the grand finale, he quotes George Washington: "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence. . . . to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable. . . . The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good." Or as Nugent says about living in today’s society, "How can it be considered good when ‘the clueless and defenseless public’ can be killed at their most vulnerable moment, without a chance for defense?"