Hats Off To Larry
Hey, every now and then you have to stand up for a change. Now is one of those times. After what happened in Buffalo and Uvalde, coaches, players, and recording artists have shown more backbone and leadership than U.S. senators (except for Chris Murphy from Connecticut, who has been very vocal since Sandy Hook).
We elect senators to represent our interests. 90% of Americans are in favor of common-sense gun laws. But when the going got tough, the senators blew out of town for a week and a half. They should’ve stayed in D.C. and tackled the issue. Instead, we had to rely on people like Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr to provide a dose of political courage. Watch this video it will rattle you.
Coach Kerr knows about gun violence. His dad Malcolm was assassinated by a terrorist in 1984 while he was the president of American University in Beirut. San Francisco Giants coach and former Red Sox ballplayer Gabe Kapler was just as vocal, saying, “I’m not okay with the state of this country.”
Even flag-wavin’, gun-totin’ country singers are coming to their senses. Mr. “God Bless the U.S.A.” himself, Lee Greenwood, spoke out against AR-15s and joined all the other scheduled performers in dropping out of the NRA convention in Texas last weekend.
Out of respect for the families of the kids and teachers who lost their lives in Uvalde, they couldn’t in good conscience perform at an event celebrating guns, especially in the state where the massacre took place, sends a much stronger message than the canned “thoughts and prayers” statement Ted Cruz and others release every time this happens.
Today, the leading cause of death for kids is guns. It’s easier to buy an AR-15 than a six pack of beer. You have to be 21 to do that. Our political leaders have decided that the gun industry and their lobbyists are more important than our kids’ lives. One of my kids has two boys, 5 and 7. He admits that not much makes him emotional, but when he dropped his sons off at school the day after Uvalde, he got choked up watching them walk in. Is this what parents are expected to live with every day?
Let me end this sad one with a tip of the hat to Larry Gatlin, another country singer who stood up and dropped out of the NRA concert. “Midnight Choir” is one of my favorite tunes. The Gatlin Brothers recorded it live at a mission and they have done performances to raise awareness and money for missions and shelters ever since. Larry Gatlin has a heart that beats—unlike those U.S. senators. But let’s keep the heat on them…if we can find them.
Keep your dukes up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Dunf68I-8
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