Joe Rogan Experience #1106 - Colion Noir

1. 0:00 – 2:26

   Colion Noir’s name, pseudonym rumors, and personal privacy

   1. CNColion Noir0:00

      ... about 1/4 of that.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      How do I pronounce your name?

   3. CNColion Noir0:05

      Kolyon Noir.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Kolyon?

   5. CNColion Noir0:07

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:07

      Okay.

   7. CNColion Noir0:08

      Yeah. Now, there's a conspiracy out there-

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      Oh.

   9. CNColion Noir0:11

      ... that-

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:11

       Okay.

   11. CNColion Noir0:11

       ... um, I made this name up.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:13

       Yeah. Well, we'll talk about that.

   13. CNColion Noir0:14

       Yeah. (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:14

       We'll talk about that. We're, we're live already? Yeah, yeah. How'd you do that so quickly? Yeah, you weren't looking last- Oh, you're a wizard.

   15. CNColion Noir0:19

       (laughs)

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:20

       Uh, what's the conspiracy about your... Your name is Kolyon Noir.

   17. CNColion Noir0:24

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:24

       What's the conspiracy about your name?

   19. CNColion Noir0:25

       That I made it up to hide who I really was.

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:28

       Oh, some CIA-type shit.

   21. CNColion Noir0:29

       And I'm... Yeah, like-

   22. JRJoe Rogan0:29

       Hmm.

   23. CNColion Noir0:29

       ... like, everybody gets to have, like, pseudonyms except for me. When you're talking about guns, you don't get to have pseudonyms.

   24. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       Did you have a, a different name?

   25. CNColion Noir0:36

       Yeah, my name's Collins.

   26. JRJoe Rogan0:38

       Oh.

   27. CNColion Noir0:39

       Yeah. (laughs)

   28. JRJoe Rogan0:39

       Okay. So, you did change your name?

   29. CNColion Noir0:41

       Yeah, I did.

   30. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       But there's a conspiracy behind you changing your name?
2. 2:26 – 6:02

   How a first trip to the shooting range changed Colion’s views on guns

   1. JRJoe Rogan2:26

      So, how did you get wrapped up with the NRA? So, let-

   2. CNColion Noir2:30

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan2:30

      We should kinda, we should cover a couple-

   4. CNColion Noir2:33

      We'll do, we'll do the origin story?

   5. JRJoe Rogan2:34

      ... of things here today. (clears throat) Yeah.

   6. CNColion Noir2:34

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan2:35

      So, you're kind of like a spokesperson for the NRA?

   8. CNColion Noir2:38

      Mm-mm. Not official spokesperson.

   9. JRJoe Rogan2:39

      Not official?

   10. CNColion Noir2:40

       No.

   11. JRJoe Rogan2:40

       Unofficial?

   12. CNColion Noir2:40

       Mm-mm. No, I am-

   13. JRJoe Rogan2:41

       But do they... You are a member of the NRA? Do they-

   14. CNColion Noir2:43

       Yes.

   15. JRJoe Rogan2:43

       ... recognize you? Do they appreciate you? Like, how does that work?

   16. CNColion Noir2:46

       Okay. So, the way it started th- you... I mean, I'm gonna start from the beginning.

   17. JRJoe Rogan2:50

       Okay.

   18. CNColion Noir2:51

       All right. So, um, my... I had a friend of mine, a good friend of mine, who called me up one day and was like, "Do you wanna go shooting?" And I was like, "Uh," 'cause at the time, I really wasn't pro-gun. And this was about... I was around 23, 24?

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:04

       How old are you now?

   20. CNColion Noir3:05

       I'm 34.

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:06

       So, this is f- 10 years ago?

   22. CNColion Noir3:07

       Yeah. And (smacks lips) I hesitated a little bit 'cause my background growing up, like, I didn't grow up with guns in the house. Um, no one in my family had a gun. And for me, the idea and the notion of being a young Black male with a gun, it's always-

   23. JRJoe Rogan3:23

       Negative.

   24. CNColion Noir3:23

       ... I always saw it through... Exactly, through the lens of, you know, gangbanger, drug dealer, so forth and so on. So, that's the mindset I had when, with respect to firearms. Um, unconsciously, right? I didn't even realize it, wasn't even conscious of it until I started getting into this very heavy and realized, "Okay, wow, I was thinking like that, didn't realize it." And so... But at the same time, I told myself, "Why am I afraid of essentially what is an inanimate object," right? So, I think to myself, I'm like, "All right, I really don't wanna go. I'm a little terrified, but you know what? I'm gonna go ahead and do it." And so, I remember getting to the range. We get to the range, and we walk into the door, and then I hear the door for where the actual bays are, and I hear the pop, pop, pop go off. And I'm like, "Holy crap, this is actually happening." And so I kinda had this nervousness, but I'm with my friend, right? And so I don't want my friend to feel like, "Okay, you're acting kinda like a bitch." Right?

   25. JRJoe Rogan4:18

       Mm-hmm.

   26. CNColion Noir4:18

       So, I kinda kept it to myself. We get to the counter. We do all the paperwork that, you know, requisite paperwork, liability forms, all that. Um, and he has his gun. We get some ammo, we go to the lane. I remember it was, uh, the very last lane. It was, uh, name of the range was Top Gun in Houston. And so we go to the very last range, he gives me kind of like a brief instruction about how to shoot the gun, how to load it, so forth and so on. And so at that point, uh, I remember picking up the gun terrified, not knowing what to expect, not knowing what was gonna happen. So, I remember picking it up. It was a little Taurus PT11, PT111 Millennium in .40 caliber, and this was a subcompact. Probably not the best first time shooting gun to use.

   27. JRJoe Rogan5:00

       It's a big fucking gun.

   28. CNColion Noir5:01

       Well, the gun itself was small-

   29. JRJoe Rogan5:02

       Small but-

   30. CNColion Noir5:03

       ... but the caliber, exactly.
3. 6:02 – 8:44

   Guns as objects vs. human intent: mass shootings, responsibility, and NRA membership

   1. JRJoe Rogan6:02

      It's amazing. The, the, the thing that people are bothered by is what comes with it and how people use it.

   2. CNColion Noir6:08

      Mm-hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan6:09

      And, um, I think an analogy that's a fair analogy but people reject is driving cars, and a lot of these fucking psychos that have been running over people in the street. I mean, it just happened again in Berlin.

   4. CNColion Noir6:21

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan6:22

      Or what... Somewhere, somewhere in Germany. Some guy ran a bunch of people over and then blew his brains out. It's, it's an object, right? It's a thing that you use.

   6. CNColion Noir6:31

      And I'm a huge car guy too, so-

   7. JRJoe Rogan6:32

      I am as well. Yeah, I love cars. I mean, if someone said, "We have to ban cars because people started running people over with cars," I'd be like, "Well, okay." I think w- we're dealing with a whole bunch of problems. And there's, there's a bunch of things that I think we could probably agree on.

   8. CNColion Noir6:47

      Mm-hmm.

   9. JRJoe Rogan6:48

      One of the things we can agree on is all these mass shootings are horrific.

   10. CNColion Noir6:52

       Absolutely.

   11. JRJoe Rogan6:52

       They're terrifying.

   12. CNColion Noir6:53

       Mm-hmm.

   13. JRJoe Rogan6:53

       It's, it's a- an evil, terrible thing that... Here's another thing. No NRA members are doing that. That's one of the things that's really kind of fucked up about people getting angry at the NRA.

   14. CNColion Noir7:05

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan7:06

       We've never had a mass shooting, ever.

   16. CNColion Noir7:08

       I- I... Not that I can recall that was done by an NRA member, no.

   17. JRJoe Rogan7:11

       I, I looked. I tried to find one.

   18. CNColion Noir7:13

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan7:14

       I can't find a mass shooting that was perpetrated by an NR- NRA member.

   20. CNColion Noir7:18

       And I think it's... (sighs) So, the biggest problem that a lot of gun owners, especially NRA members, have is pe-... Like, the conversation that's being had is basically coloring or actually forgetting the human element behind those three letters.

   21. JRJoe Rogan7:33

       Mm-hmm.

   22. CNColion Noir7:33

       Like, the NRA isn't, like, this demigod that just sits in a cloud of Olympia, and it's just one big guy that's, that's orchestrating this entire thing.

   23. JRJoe Rogan7:41

       Yeah.

   24. CNColion Noir7:41

       It's... You're talking five million people.

   25. JRJoe Rogan7:44

       Yeah.

   26. CNColion Noir7:44

       Right? Like, I'm a, I'm, I'm a member. I am a gun owner, right? That, that's who I am. Uh, along with five million other people who are that way. And then there are a ton of other people who think they're NRA members and aren't, and then a ton of other people who probably don't mind being NRA members, they just haven't gotten around to doing it and getting their membership.

   27. JRJoe Rogan7:59

       Yeah.

   28. CNColion Noir8:00

       Um, and the vast majority of those people, and I'm saying that just to be safe, they're good people.

   29. JRJoe Rogan8:06

       I think there's quite a few good people. Um, the people that have perpetrated all these mass shootings are definitely not good people. But what's wrong with them? Well, I'll tell you what's not wrong with them: guns. It's not guns that are wrong with them.

   30. CNColion Noir8:20

       Mm-hmm.
4. 8:44 – 18:04

   Rights vs. “need”: Second Amendment framing and mental health focus

   1. CNColion Noir8:44

      And, and that's another thing too, though. Like, and I've said it before, I think we are a victim of our own success in this country. Right? I do think this is the greatest country in the world. But the problem with that is, is w- this country was built on an ideological foundation that I think it aids in that, our ability to be as great as we are. But we live in a world now where people don't see the necessity for something that was never predi- that was never supposed to be seen through the lens of necessity in the first place. The Second Amendment doesn't give me a right. It preserves something that already existed. But what happens is we have a culture of people who don't, who look at the Second Amendment as a privilege, not a right. They look at it as a privilege. So that's why they say, "Well, why do you need that? Well, why do you need more than 10 rounds? Why do you need this? Why do you need that?" And I'm like, first of all, we're framing the entire conversation under need when that's not what the Second Amendment is about. It's a right that I've already had. It's a natural right that I had the moment that I stepped foot on this Earth as a person. The right to self-defense is, is universal.

   2. JRJoe Rogan9:44

      Yeah. And th- you know, when people say, "Okay, it's a right."

   3. CNColion Noir9:48

      Mm-hmm.

   4. JRJoe Rogan9:48

      "But obviously there's a problem, so we have to do something about it, so you're gonna have to give up your guns." This is, this is the common-

   5. CNColion Noir9:54

      Mm-hmm.

   6. JRJoe Rogan9:54

      ... conversation, and it's v- very flippant and it's not well thought out, and there's no cons- no consideration whatsoever to mental health issues.

   7. CNColion Noir10:04

      Mm-hmm.

   8. JRJoe Rogan10:04

      I think-

   9. CNColion Noir10:04

      Just don't think this is of service.

   10. JRJoe Rogan10:05

       ... this is mar- ... I think that's the primary problem.

   11. CNColion Noir10:07

       Yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan10:08

       I... That's... I've been saying this from the get-go. I think it's the primary problem. I think it's a mental health issue. And people say, "Oh, that's simplifying it." I don't think it is.

   13. CNColion Noir10:16

       Right.

   14. JRJoe Rogan10:16

       I think it's the opposite. I think it's, it's ignored.

   15. CNColion Noir10:19

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan10:19

       Look, it's a... There's something wrong when you have this many people on mental health medication, and then when you look at the number of mass shooters, it's almost universal. Almost every single one of them is on some sort of psychiatric medication. But that's not a part of the narrative.

   17. CNColion Noir10:35

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan10:35

       That's not a part of the conversation. The conversation is always, "Get rid of guns." Now, I don't want crazy people to have guns, and I don't think you do either.

   19. CNColion Noir10:43

       No, I don't.

   20. JRJoe Rogan10:44

       So, outside of taking away the rights to have guns from normal, law-abiding people like yourself and myself, I have guns, what, what do we do?

   21. CNColion Noir10:57

       Okay. So, first of all, I think we need to frame the conversation in- into specifics, right?

   22. JRJoe Rogan11:02

       You're a lawyer, right?

   23. CNColion Noir11:03

       I am.

   24. JRJoe Rogan11:03

       Okay.

   25. CNColion Noir11:04

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan11:04

       So you understand-

   27. CNColion Noir11:05

       Mm-hmm.

   28. JRJoe Rogan11:06

       ... bills and amendments-

   29. CNColion Noir11:07

       Yep.

   30. JRJoe Rogan11:07

       ... and law... Okay.
5. 18:04 – 29:50

   The gun statistics argument: suicides, justified shootings, accidents, and context

   1. CNColion Noir18:04

      Well, no. So here's what happened. So when I started getting really deep into the advocacy component of it, the, everyone was screaming, "30,000 people a day die from gun violence. 30,000 people a day." That's what they were running with, right?

   2. JRJoe Rogan18:18

      Mm-hmm.

   3. CNColion Noir18:18

      And they were scaring all the suburban house moms. "Oh my gosh, we gotta do something about gun control. We gotta do something about guns." Um, so I, I, I jumped into the pool and I, I, I d- I just like, "Something doesn't seem right about that figure," right? And I'm not saying I'm the one who put this out there.

   4. JRJoe Rogan18:31

      What did you think was wrong about it?

   5. CNColion Noir18:32

      It seemed inflated. It seemed inflated. I don't know what it was, is on a subconscious level, or maybe-

   6. JRJoe Rogan18:39

      To a lot of people.

   7. CNColion Noir18:39

      Or maybe it was me looking for a confirmation bias, right?

   8. JRJoe Rogan18:41

      Mm-hmm. Right.

   9. CNColion Noir18:41

      Because I, I felt the way I did about firearms. I'll be honest and say that.

   10. JRJoe Rogan18:44

       Right.

   11. CNColion Noir18:45

       And so what I did is I kind of researched a little more and I realized, holy shi- over 65% of that 30,000 is suicides. 65%.

   12. JRJoe Rogan18:54

       Is that real?

   13. CNColion Noir18:55

       Yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan18:55

       Jesus Christ. So what is that, like 18,000 people-

   15. CNColion Noir18:58

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan18:58

       ... a day shoot themselves?

   17. CNColion Noir19:00

       Man, like-

   18. JRJoe Rogan19:01

       Something crazy like that?

   19. CNColion Noir19:01

       But what did we say at the top of the show? Man, people are miserable, man.

   20. JRJoe Rogan19:04

       That's a fucking crazy number though, man. That's a, a Kevin Hart concert.

   21. CNColion Noir19:08

       Yeah, pretty much. (laughs)

   22. JRJoe Rogan19:09

       All together. "Good night everybody." Blam.

   23. CNColion Noir19:13

       Well-

   24. JRJoe Rogan19:13

       That's really what it is, 18,000 people. That, that's fucking incredible.

   25. CNColion Noir19:17

       So then it, but then it begs the question that you, you brought up before, the mental health aspect.

   26. JRJoe Rogan19:21

       Yeah.

   27. CNColion Noir19:22

       How much, how much, how many lives would we actually save if we took the same energy we apply to just making guns evil and trying to ban guns, and to take that energy and put it towards understanding what it is, w- why as a society we have a society that is so eager to really not wanna be here anymore.

   28. JRJoe Rogan19:42

       Hm.

   29. CNColion Noir19:43

       Expand that a little bit more because we have all the guns in the universe here in America, right? Compared to any other country. But yet, our suicide rates should be exceedingly higher than all the other countries that don't have as many guns. But it's not the case, right? You look at the UK, you look at Japan. Japan has double our suicide rate.

   30. JRJoe Rogan20:02

       Does it really?
6. 29:50 – 1:03:13

   Screening, due process, and the challenge of predicting violence

   1. JRJoe Rogan29:50

      Are you opposed to more screening of people to get guns?

   2. CNColion Noir29:56

      Yes and no.

   3. JRJoe Rogan29:57

      Yes and no?

   4. CNColion Noir29:58

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan29:58

      Okay.

   6. CNColion Noir29:59

      Yes, in that in an ideal world, if we could minority report it and figure it out, who's-

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:03

      I don't mean minority report, I mean just like check to see if they're on menta- mental health medication.

   8. CNColion Noir30:07

      But I mean, we, we currently ha- well see, here's the thing, there's a slippery slope with that too.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:11

      Mm-hmm.

   10. CNColion Noir30:11

       So what, what constitutes somebody being on mental health medication that's prohibitive?

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:15

       Right.

   12. CNColion Noir30:15

       What if I, what if I deal with anxiety if I'm on Xans?... prescribed.

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:20

       Mm-hmm.

   14. CNColion Noir30:20

       Does that prevent me from owning a firearm?

   15. JRJoe Rogan30:21

       It's a good question. In California, for the longest time, they were trying to make it if you had a medical marijuana card-

   16. CNColion Noir30:27

       Mm-hmm.

   17. JRJoe Rogan30:27

       ... you couldn't own a firearm. I think they were doing that federally. I think tha- that was a federal thing, that if you had a legal medical marijuana card, that they were trying to prevent people... They were trying to prevent people from... They were trying to-

   18. CNColion Noir30:38

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan30:38

       ... they were trying to cripple the medical marijuana-

   20. CNColion Noir30:40

       It's a fact. Got you.

   21. JRJoe Rogan30:40

       ... industry, because they knew that people wanted guns.

   22. CNColion Noir30:42

       'Cause, 'cause to be honest, it's, it's intellectually dishonest. If I can, if I can go to the store with a gun on me and buy alcohol-

   23. JRJoe Rogan30:50

       Right.

   24. CNColion Noir30:51

       ... like, and you know me, I'm not-

   25. JRJoe Rogan30:51

       Right.

   26. CNColion Noir30:51

       ... I don't even smoke.

   27. JRJoe Rogan30:53

       Right.

   28. CNColion Noir30:53

       Right? But l- let's just be honest about it, like, alcohol, weed. I mean, I, I think u- utilizing that as a prohibitive means to own a firearm-

   29. JRJoe Rogan31:02

       Mm-hmm.

   30. CNColion Noir31:02

       ... I think is, I think is-
7. 53:37 – 1:13:53

   Carrying a firearm daily: readiness, training, and lifestyle responsibility

   1. CNColion Noir53:37

      You know what's interesting about his demeanor? And h- how like he doesn't have this sense of entitlement. And I'm, I'm re- bringing it back.

   2. JRJoe Rogan53:44

      Humble.

   3. CNColion Noir53:44

      Bringing it back to the gun thing a little bit.

   4. JRJoe Rogan53:45

      Mm-hmm.

   5. CNColion Noir53:47

      The first time, uh, I carried a gun, um ... Remember, I told you there was two of the most, the times where I felt more insecure was my first day in mm- MMA, and carrying a gun for the first time. But carrying that gun for the first time made me realize, holy shit, I'm not the only one. Right?

   6. JRJoe Rogan54:02

      Mm-hmm.

   7. CNColion Noir54:02

      So it actually humbled me, in, from the standpoint that knowing that you don't know who you're dealing with. And when you carry a firearm on you, you have the ability to go from zero to 100 like that. And so you develop a respect for that. Also, you start to develop a respect for life as well.

   8. JRJoe Rogan54:19

      Right.

   9. CNColion Noir54:20

      Because you understand how fragile. You start to realize how fragile it is.

   10. JRJoe Rogan54:22

       Right.

   11. CNColion Noir54:23

       And so for me, I actually became more docile. Like I don't get road rage.

   12. JRJoe Rogan54:29

       Right.

   13. CNColion Noir54:29

       Because, because I understand and because I live in Texas. We don't do that. (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan54:33

       Yeah.

   15. CNColion Noir54:34

       Like ...

   16. JRJoe Rogan54:34

       Smart.

   17. CNColion Noir54:34

       No, it's not. Um, but I also know that like there's so much responsibility that comes with carrying a firearm. It's un- ... It's unreal.Um, and so for people who go out of the means to learn to do it and be able to do it, like, there's a certain level of respect you have to have for it, because it, it comes with a lot. There's certain places you can't go, certain things you can't do, things you have to be cognizant of. Like, so I started... I actually started staying away from certain places because I knew I had a gun on me, and I never wanna have to be put in a situation I actually have to go for it.

   18. JRJoe Rogan55:03

       Now, do you wear a gun all the time?

   19. CNColion Noir55:05

       W- l- w- eh, w- if I can do it legally, I am.

   20. JRJoe Rogan55:07

       Really?

   21. CNColion Noir55:08

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan55:08

       And w- what is the idea behind that? Is that, like, it's better to have it and not to need it than to need it and not to have it?

   23. CNColion Noir55:14

       Yeah. Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan55:15

       Yeah.

   25. CNColion Noir55:15

       It's, it's, and it's no different... I, it's literally just a part of my routine. Watch, w- watch, keys, phone, wallet, gun.

   26. JRJoe Rogan55:21

       One in the chamber, or no?

   27. CNColion Noir55:23

       One in the chamber.

   28. JRJoe Rogan55:23

       Always?

   29. CNColion Noir55:24

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan55:24

       Safety on?

Episode duration: 2:02:11