During an interview with DJ Vlad, former NBA star John Salley talked of how he regularly carried a gun during his time with the Detroit Pistons.

Salley said, “When I was in Detroit, I always had a gun. Even though I was with my brothers and we had security, I always carried my gun.”

He added, “I’m not saying I was right, but I was ready.”

Salley noted, “So, for some people, we’re Americans, we feel safer with guns… This is the culture – People feel safer with guns.”


Salley stressed that whether people agree with his decision to carry a gun or not, doing so is part of the “culture.”

He said, “This is the culture, people feel safer with guns. I felt safer carrying a gun, at times, than I didn’t.”

Salley went on to explain that when he went to play for Miami, his wife got a concealed carry permit and said, “I’m carrying a pistol.”

He indicated he now lives in Los Angeles, where he does not carry a gun because he has not been able to get a concealed carry license.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a Turning Point USA Ambassador, and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.