Nguyen’s 2A ‘Obsession’ Stems from Fight Against Socialism

Rep. Quang Nguyen (R-1) knew by the age of five or six that communism had destroyed his home country of Vietnam. And today, at the age of 62, he knows something else: he would do anything to prevent it from tainting life in Arizona.

“In Vietnam, you understand right away that communism was to blame for so much of the world’s atrocities,” said Nguyen, a Prescott Valley resident. “By the time I was 12 and a half, it was such a hatred of communism, and that hatred has never subsided. It is ongoing until now.”

That’s because when he was 12 and a half, Saigon fell in April of 1975. Nguyen’s father, a retired Lt. Col. in the Vietnamese army, placed two of his sons, including Nguyen, on an American C-130 one week beforehand. The preteen wore only a T-shirt and shorts — flimsy protection against the freezing temperatures of a cargo jet — and carried a small bag of clothing and photos. His father told Nguyen, the youngest of a half-dozen sons, that he might never see the rest of his family again.

“There was a lot of unknowns, and a little bit of fear. You had no idea what’s below ground when you get off the plane and go down those steps,” Nguyen remembered. “What are you facing? What will the future be like? It was quite a bit of worry.”

After stops in the Philippines, Guam, and California, Nguyen and his brother finally arrived at a refugee camp at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. The entire experience only cemented his positive views of the American military.

“There was never talk of occupation from the American soldiers in Vietnam, and it was Americans being there to help us fight for freedom,” Nguyen said. “When the French were there, you had a sense of occupation and that they would take your resources. The Americans didn’t do that.”

Many of Nguyen’s family members left Vietnam via a river barge that was eventually picked up by the U.S. Naval Ship Sgt. Andrew Miller. Eventually, most of his extended family made it safely to America, too, including some who just jumped on boats headed to the Pacific Ocean.

“You get religious quickly when you’re in that situation,” Nguyen said. “It’s very difficult to be an atheist then.”

Thanks to that faith (first as a Baptist and eventually a Catholic), he taught himself English, graduated from high school and college, married, had two children, and even provided technical drawings for the F-20 and F-18 programs via Northrop Corporation. He, his wife, Mai, and their children fled California in 2004, opting for Arizona, where they chose Yavapai County for its four distinct seasons and natural opportunities. After working as a creative director and then founding his own marketing and branding company, he was ready for a different challenge: politics.

He became a representative in 2021 and serves alongside fellow Republican Selena Bliss. Given his background, defending the Second Amendment is especially important to Nguyen.

I have more knowledge of and am more obsessed with the Second Amendment than anyone else I know in Arizona,” said Nguyen, who has never returned to Vietnam. “If someone said, ‘Oh, Quang is just a one-issue guy,’ I would say, ‘You’re welcome.’ Because I lost a country once already, and I don’t want to do it again.”

He thinks of himself as “Mister Teflon,” not particularly caring about what people say. “I don’t react to criticism, and I don’t react to people bashing me — because who else can actually stand on the floor and say they’ve been though a communist invasion? You’re on the verge of life and death, so once you’re there, nothing else matters. The only thing that matters is am I doing a good job for my constituents in LD1?”

Nguyen often thinks of the time he has left in the state legislature (his term ends in 2028). It’s been an incredibly positive experience, he said, especially the relationships he’s developed with other lawmakers. However, even the negative aspects don’t bring him down.

“It’s hard being in the legislature,” he said. “But it’s not as hard as where I’ve been.”