Liam Neeson Under Fire From US Gun Makers

An American firearms manufacturer has taken aim at Liam Neeson following the actor's comments about gun control in the US.

The Irish-born star blasted the high number of privately owned guns in the States as a "disgrace" during press junkets for his latest instalment of the Taken film series.

"There's too many (expletive) guns out there," Neeson told Dubai's Gulf News last week.

"Especially in America. I think the population is like 320 million? There's over 300 million guns.

"I think it's a (expletive) disgrace. Every week now we're picking up a newspaper and seeing yet another few kids have been killed in schools."

PARA USA, which provided weapons for use in the filming of Taken 3, said it "regrets" the decision in light of the actor's comments.

The North Carolina-based company said in a post on its Facebook page that Neeson's remarks "reflect a cultural and factual ignorance that undermines support of the Second Amendment and American liberties".

PARA added it would no long provide firearms for films starring Neeson.

"Further, we encourage our partners and friends in the firearms industry to do the same," the company added.

Neeson told the Dubai paper he grew up watching cowboy movies and "loved doing that (gun gesture) with my fingers", but added his on-screen, gun-toting characters that have earned him millions of dollars are "fantasy".

He said: "It's in the movies, you know? I think it can give people a great release from stresses in life and all the rest of it, you know what I mean?

"It doesn't mean they're all going to go out and go, 'Yeah, let's get a gun!'"