Rapper Ice-T, left, and Ted Nugent are teaming up for a documentary about guns.Reuters/ AP
When music fans think of West Coast rapper Ice-T, Ted Nugent may not be the first name that immediately comes to mind. But thats who the rapper is teaming up with for a new documentary about the heated gun control debate.
The recently announced film, Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire, looks at the background of the Second Amendment.
‘Assaulted turns the gun debate around. It is a civil rights issue, and we take a look at the history of the Second Amendment. Its a right that has been abused over the years and one that gets overlooked the most, the films executive producer, writer and director, Kris Koenig, told FOX411s Pop Tarts column. Its a self-defense right that gets distorted into self-offense. Our civil rights are very precious to us. The reason our country exists is to balance individual rights against the whole. It has kept our country safe.
Narrated by Ice-T, the film features myriad voices on the topic. Nugent appears along with Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,as well as UCLA professor and author Adam Winkler. The movie aims to take a critical look at our current gun laws, Koenig explained, and how the concept of people rising up against the government in the U.S. may not be so farfetched.
When you look at what is happening with the IRS targeting certain groups, or the FBI looking into media phone records, you realize it doesnt take a lot to push a government into tyranny. Im not suggesting we are anywhere near that point now, but governments do break down, Koenig cautioned. Look at what happened after Hurricane Katrina, or the L.A riots. The government wasnt there to protect the people, and Koreatown was left as something of a battleground. We see small incidences like this where the government does fail us.
Koenig insisted that its crucial to understand the roots of gun violence, mostly tied to gangs, drugs and the black market.
And you cant ignore the mental health aspect, he continued.
The push to ban assault weapons has also sparked dispute in recent months, with many arguing there is no reason for the average American to possess such a weapon, yet this documentary filmmaker begs to differ.
When dealing with anything to do with our Second Amendment, our lawmakers need to keep in mind that it serves to protect us as individuals… Incidences of violence with an assault weapon are few and far between, less than 1 percent, Koenig said. We shouldnt give up our civil liberties for a false sense of safety.
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Documentary exploring history of Second Amendment features Ted Nugent, Ice-T