Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wore a Vote for Our Lives shirt during a press conference prior to Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.
Kerr, a staunch supporter of gun-control laws, told reporters he wore the shirt in response to the shooting in Virginia Beach on Friday which left 12 people dead.
WARRIORS COACH STEVE KERR HOPES YOUNGER GENERATION WILL VOTE OUT LAWMAKERS AGAINST GUN CONTROL
“The shirt has everything to do with the tragedy in Virginia Beach a couple of days ago, and how devastated so many families are and so many people are,” Kerr said, according to The Washington Post. “The shirt is a reminder that the only way we can get out of this mess is to actually vote, and to vote the people who are going to be willing to create some change in our gun laws in our country.”
Kerr added: "The young generation, the March for Our Lives generation, has really inspired me. So I offer my support to them and to all young people, and hope that we can create a change where we don’t all have to walk around scared we’re going to get shot in our country.”
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Kerr’s statement came days after he told the Mercury News he believes that the representatives in Congress have views that don’t reflect those of Americans and it will be the younger generation to vote out the politicians who don’t agree with their views on gun control.
“What is happening is, especially for March for Our Lives, there is a group of young people fed up with all of these school shootings,” Kerr said Tuesday. “They are setting up these chapters all over the country. What each chapter is trying to do is get people to vote.”
He added that reason why the U.S. doesn’t have “sensible gun laws” is because of the National Rifle Association’s power over politicians and elections.
“The reason we don’t have sensible gun laws is the NRA has always been really powerful and has always funded elections at the grassroots level. Now these groups that I’m talking about are actually starting to fund elections themselves. So as the money evens out and influence evens out, these younger generations are going to impose the will of the people,” he said.
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Kerr, who won five NBA titles as a player and three as a coach, has been a supporter of strict gun control laws and was affected by gun violence himself when he was younger. Kerr’s father was shot and killed in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984 by a group associated with the Islamic Holy War.
Since becoming the Warriors head coach, he’s talked to many families affected by shootings in Parkland, Florida, Aurora, Colorado and Las Vegas.