Coach Mike Leach Keeps His Guns Locked Up Because They're Too Dangerous But Sleeps With A Viking Axe Next To His Bed

Seattle Times - Washington State coach Mike Leach isn’t a public policy maker or a politician, but he’s a lawyer by profession, has never been shy to express his opinion, and as he revealed in a Monday radio interview with Oregonian columnist John Canzano, is a gun owner.

After a brief interchange about the best pizza places in Portland, Canzano asked Leach, whose Cougars play the Ducks in Eugene, Ore. this weekend, whether he had any thoughts on guns.

Be careful what you wish for, Canzano. The interview became Leach’s soapbox as the Cougars’ coach delivered a monologue that actually offered some insightful suggestions as to how to crack down on gun violence nationwide.

I think there’s an incredible number of people who don’t know how guns work to begin with. We need a way to enforce the gun laws that exist now.

Whether it’s a car or boat or motorcycle, it’s a dangerous item, so you have to show a level of competence and get a license before you’re allowed to operate something that’s dangerous. Guns are dangerous but you don’t have to get a license to operate guns. I think in order to operate a gun, you should have a license that means ‘I know the difference between a pistol and a revolver, a shotgun and rifle, I can load and unload one and shoot it with some level of competency at what I’m aiming at.’ And until you can do that, you’re not allowed to operate a gun.

I’ve had players and stuff, they see some video on TV and they go to Walmart and buy a gun. Well they don’t know how to load it, they shoot it sideways. That’s absurd. That’s insane. So because of this failure to teach and educate, there’s accidental shootings.”

When I was between 10 to 12 – and this probably isn’t a good idea — my dad would toss me the keys to the gun cabinet and say, ‘Go shoot and practice but I don’t want you to use the (big gun whose name was sort of muffled in the interview) because that goes a long way and I don’t want you to hit the house.’ And I’d go outside and shoot cans and bottles.

I keep my guns on one part of the house totally locked up, and I keep the ammunition in another part of the house. Because if you think about it carefully, statistically, you’re more likely to shoot yourself, a loved one or a relative. There’s this (absurd) notion of ‘if you come in my house I’ll shoot ya.’ I do have a Viking axe by the bed if I need to whack someone. … My wife bought me a Viking axe – the axe side curls down so you can grab the adversary around the neck and you can use it to climb walls, as a grappling hook.’

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I love Mike Leach so so much. Probably one of my top 10 favorite people alive. I mean I don’t even need to blog when Leach is involved, I can just literally copy and paste whatever came out of his mouth verbatim and it will be 1000X more entertaining than anything I could add to it. Hey Mike what’s your favorite pizza place? Ok obvious transition, what are your thoughts on gun ownership and the Second Amendment? And of course, Coach makes some solid, sensical points…and also of course, he just had to throw in something awesomely quotable.

If you think he’s lying or making that up just as a joke you don’t know Leach.

PS,

Viking axe over Pirate sword is honestly the upset of the century.

If you told me Mike Leach had an unusual weapon next to his bedside table, I would have bet my life that it was either an ancient pirate sword owned by Blackbeard himself or an exact replica of Jack Sparrow’s sword signed by Johnny Depp.

But then again…an intruder knows that.