NRA Leaders
Member Profile
Tom Selleck
Board Member
Biography
Tom Selleck is an actor best known for his role in the 1980s television series “Magnum P.I.” He has also appeared in over 50 motion pictures. While serving as a member of the California National Guard, Selleck was activated during the 1965 riot in the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Selleck has claimed he is “not a spokesperson for the NRA,” despite his position on the organization’s board and the fact that he has appeared in numerous NRA ads. Politically, he has described himself as a “registered Independent with a lot of Libertarian leanings.” Selleck endorsed the Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), in 2008.
All Statements (3 total)
- An article published in the LA Times on July 8, 2015 reported that Selleck has been stealing thousands of gallons of water for his 60-acre ranch in California. According to the article, “Before filing the complaint, the water district tried to get Selleck to halt the unlawful water deliveries. In November 2013, [the Calleguas municipal water district] sent cease-and-desist letters to both Selleck’s home and an Avenue of the Stars address that’s linked to the property, according to court papers. As recently as March 2015, the water truck was spotted filling up at the same hydrant and delivering water to Selleck’s estate on four separate days, according to the complaint.” On July 15, 2015, the New York Times provided an update in the story, writing, “A Southern California water district voted Wednesday night to accept Tom Selleck's offer of more than $21,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing the ‘Magnum, P.I.’ star of taking water he wasn't entitled to for his 60-acre ranch.”
2015-07-08
In a contentious interview on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” in 1999, Selleck indicated that gun violence is a price we must pay for freedom in the United States by saying, “What I’m talking about is, are we a responsible enough society, in terms of television, in terms of guns, in terms of everything else, to be this free? That should frame the debate. My answer, unfortunately, in this culture, is ‘probably not.’ But I’m going to go down with the civil liberties ship.” He also asked O’Donnell, “Do you really think the Second Amendment is in the Constitution to guarantee hunting and target shooting?”
2015-07-08
In 1995, Selleck told Cigar Aficionado magazine, “There are a lot of things about cigars I love because of the anarchist in me.” Regarding the antismoking movement, Selleck said, "Solutions to problems in a free society are messy. There are no magic bullets, no bumper-sticker solutions. If we want an authoritarian state, we can continue to do the kind of stuff we're doing now about smoking." Speaking more broadly about his philosophy, Selleck added, “I don't like to characterize anybody, but I think Liberals tend to have collectivist solutions. The twentieth century has been a collectivist century. Most of our solutions to social problems—even the term ‘social problems’—are collectivist. We've had this global experiment, and we're starting to see the end of the chain letter … It's just time to reassess things and say that maybe this idea of ‘the common good’ has to be translated through the individual.”
2015-07-08
Statements by Category (3 total)
In a contentious interview on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” in 1999, Selleck indicated that gun violence is a price we must pay for freedom in the United States by saying, “What I’m talking about is, are we a responsible enough society, in terms of television, in terms of guns, in terms of everything else, to be this free? That should frame the debate. My answer, unfortunately, in this culture, is ‘probably not.’ But I’m going to go down with the civil liberties ship.” He also asked O’Donnell, “Do you really think the Second Amendment is in the Constitution to guarantee hunting and target shooting?”
In 1995, Selleck told Cigar Aficionado magazine, “There are a lot of things about cigars I love because of the anarchist in me.” Regarding the antismoking movement, Selleck said, "Solutions to problems in a free society are messy. There are no magic bullets, no bumper-sticker solutions. If we want an authoritarian state, we can continue to do the kind of stuff we're doing now about smoking." Speaking more broadly about his philosophy, Selleck added, “I don't like to characterize anybody, but I think Liberals tend to have collectivist solutions. The twentieth century has been a collectivist century. Most of our solutions to social problems—even the term ‘social problems’—are collectivist. We've had this global experiment, and we're starting to see the end of the chain letter … It's just time to reassess things and say that maybe this idea of ‘the common good’ has to be translated through the individual.”