T.I. Believes We Need Gun Laws, But We Also Need Guns

T.I. shared his thoughts on gun control in light of the deadly Douglas High School shooting while outside The Palm in Beverly Hills on Wednesday (Feb. 21).

The Atlanta rapper was flanked by his longtime on-again-off-again partner Tiny, and told TMZ that he believed there should be more restrictions that would keep guns away from people who are mentally unstable.

However, he added that he was wary about taking away Americans' second amendment rights entirely.

"I just feel like if you lose the right to bear arms as a citizen you make it easy for the government to enslave people, when they don't have the right to bear arms," he said. "I think, you know, mental stabilization needs to be a big part—not being a felon isn't enough. People think the felons are the ones causing the problems but it seems as though people who have been given gun licenses, who bought guns legally, are the ones who are causing all of the mass hysteria."

Bleakly, he added, "Our system is broken."

The topic was no doubt a sensitive one for Tip, who has faced serious felony charges for illegal gun possession in the past. In a particularly heated moment, the reporter asks T.I. how easy it is to get an assault rifle off the street—to which the rapper responds by smirking and walking away.

T.I. previously served nine months in an Arkansas prison in 2007 for the possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, as well as firearms from a convicted felon.

However, Tip seems to have left those dealings in the past, and frequently weighs in now about a number of political and social issues.

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