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Steve Kerr is, unfortunately, a person with a history related to gun violence. The Golden State Warriors’ coach was in college when his father, then the president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated.
Between that history, and the importance that Kerr stresses on politics, social issues, and moral issues, it’s no surprise that the coach has some strong, eloquent opinions on both gun violence and gun control.
In the wake of the horrific mass shooting in Texas, Kerr shared some of those opinions.
Steve Kerr's full quote today on gun control pic.twitter.com/90SxEGRK3H
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 7, 2017
If you can’t see the tweet, here’s what Kerr said:
Tough question. I have my thoughts. First I want to express my condolences to the people involved, the victims, the survivor, the people directly affected. It’s just awful. That’s the prevailing sentiment from all of us today. To solve it, I think we almost have to look at it like a public health issue. Too often, we get caught up in political rhetoric, 2nd amendment rights, NRA stuff. We have to look at this as it having nothing to do with partisanship, political parties. It’s got to be a public safety issue, a public health issue. I read a great article today that talked about comparing this to the automobile industry. Apparently in the 1950s about nine or 10 times more people died then in auto wrecks than die now. What changed over 70 years? Safety measures, right? Speed limits, auto regulations, seatbelts, car seats, driver’s license registration and making sure people deserve to drive. All these things are safety issues and I think we somehow get our government cut through all the crap and get right to the point — the point of fact, which is safety. Which means a lot of things we can do without taking away people’s 2nd amendment rights. Let’s do the sensible thing. But our government has to lead the way and they can’t just cave into the NRA just because they want to make money. They have to put people’s safety and health over the interest of the gun lobby and the gun industry. Doesn’t seem like it would be that far of a stretch, but for whatever reason we’re paralyzed and unable to do anything to protect our citizens. It’s disgusting and it’s a shame.
We’ll just leave it at that. Please be civil and thoughtful in the comments.