Young says banning guns in Congress is pointless as he can kill with his bare hands

In “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” director Quentin Tarantino had Bruce Lee warn a stunt man played by Brad Pitt, “My hands are registered as lethal weapons.”

Speaking from Alaska during a virtual Congressional resources hearing Thursday, Rep. Don Young uttered a similar line about his fists of fury.

“I go back to history. Talking about weapons. I happened to serve during Korea,” Young said. “And I was well trained in how to kill somebody with my hands.”

Young, 87, served in the U.S. Army after the Korean War, from 1955-1957.

The bizarre boast was reminiscent of Young’s claim in 2014 before a campaign debate with challenger Forrest Dunbar: “Don't you ever touch me. Don't ever touch me. The last guy who touched me ended up on the ground dead.”

It was also reminiscent of Young’s decision 45 years ago to appear before a committee with four fingers of his right hand in a steel leghold trap, a gimmick to show that traps are humane. He took his fingers out of the trap when his hand began to turn blue after 20 minutes.

Young didn’t tell committee members last week that he had killed anyone with his hands. He just said that he knows how if necessary.

He brought this up as the resources committee debated a showboating Republican amendment to allow members of Congress to bring their shooting irons into the resource committee room.

The amendment, championed by Colorado extremist Rep. Lauren Boebert, drew Young’s endorsement. He said the gun ban was a “stupid” rule and the committee should stop wasting time.

You can watch his comments here, 1 hour, 16 minutes from the start.

Addressing California Democrat Rep. Jared Huffman, Young said that the committee should remember that hands are weapons too.

“So Mr. Huffman keep that in mind. It’s not weapons I’m talking about. I’m just suggesting respectfully you know if we’re going to have weapons maybe we all can come in with our hands tied together so we can’t take and attack one another. You’ve seen me in this committee Mr. Huffman, the rest of you, all this time, I get very angry, but I haven’t attacked anybody and the idea that now you’re gonna be protecting us from ourselves is really a divisive amendment, as far as I’m, rule.”

Young claimed that banning guns in the resources committee room would prevent the Democrats from having a working relationship with Republicans. What a handy excuse.

If Young is right, it is more evidence that the Republican Party isn’t working at all.

Young again referred to his Army training of 65 years ago and said, “It’s not about safety. I was trained to do what I was supposed to do. I’m pretty good with what I have—into my elbows.”

When the committee voted later on the Republican amendment to allow guns in its meetings, the measure failed on a 19-25 vote. Young had left the meeting by then and didn’t vote.

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Screen shot of Rep. Don Young in Alaska Thursday during a Zoom meeting of the resources committee.