Conservatives are unhappy with Matt Damon after the actor called for gun control in a recent interview. Many on Twitter are calling Damon hypocritical because his character in the popular Bourne film series carries firearms.
The actor sat down with New Zealand's Stuff to promote the upcoming Bourne film, "Jason Bourne," while in Sydney, and he discussed the need for stricter gun control regulation in the wake of the Orlando mass shooting.
"People get so emotional that even when you make a suggestion about not selling AK-47s to people on terror watch lists, that's a non-starter. I don't know what needs to happen," he said.
"It's wonderful what Australia did because you guys haven't had a mass shooting since you went, 'No, we're going to be sensible about this.' And nobody's rights have been infringed, you guys are fine," he added. "I wish we could be sensible like that but I don't think that's going to happen in my lifetime."
In April, Australia marked the 20th anniversary of its landmark gun control regulation that came about after 35 people were killed in a mass shooting in 1996. The legislation has been a huge success, with the chances of being murdered by a gun in Australia dropping to 0.15 per 100,000 people in 2014 from 0.54 per 100,000 people in 1996, according to a Reuters analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed.
Alas, Damon's call for a similar move in the U.S. was met with criticism on Twitter from gun rights activists.
The fictional world of films, however, is vastly different from the real-life consequences of lax gun laws and mass shootings.
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