The Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, had legally purchased military-grade weapons and accessories which allowed him to fire on the festival from the window of a hotel room across the street.
Two of country music’s biggest stars, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, are throwing their weight behind common sense gun control, calling on the government and the NRA to take action.
The couple, married for 21 years, made their comments in an interview with Billboard less than two weeks after the Las Vegas massacre in which 58 people were killed at a country music festival.
The Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, had legally purchased military-grade weapons and accessories which allowed him to fire on the festival from the window of a hotel room across the street.
“In reference to the tragedy in Las Vegas, we knew a lot of people there,” Hill told Billboard. “The doctors that treated the wounded, they saw wounds like you’d see in war. That’s not right. Military weapons should not be in the hands of civilians. It’s everyone’s responsibility, including the government and the National Rifle Association, to tell the truth. We all want a safe country.”
McGraw shares his wife’s feelings, he told Billboard.
“Look, I’m a bird hunter — I love to wing-shoot,” he said. “However, there is some common sense that’s necessary when it comes to gun control. They want to make it about the Second Amendment every time it’s brought up. It’s not about the Second Amendment.”
Speaking out is a bold move for the couple at a time when most major country music stars are hesitant to speak about gun control.
In an October op-ed published in The New York Times, country music singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash, described how she has received death threats for advocating gun control and called on other country music singers to shun the NRA.
“The stakes are too high to not disavow collusion with the NRA. Pull apart the threads of patriotism and lax gun laws that it has so subtly and maliciously intertwined. They are not the same,” she wrote.
“Some people may burn your records or ask for refunds for tickets to your concerts,” she continued. “Whatever. Find the strength of moral conviction, even if it comes with a price tag, which it will. Don’t let them bully you into silence.”
Country music’s desire to avoid the topic of gun control was manifested when the Country Music Association briefly tried to ban media questions related to guns or the Las Vegas shooting at the 2017 CMAs.
The Associated Press reports that the association issued guidelines banning the topics and warned that any reporter who broke the rules risked their press credentials being “revoked via security escort.”
The guidelines were removed after a social media backlash, including a tweet from CMA co-host Brad Paisley.
“I’m sure the CMA will do the right thing and rescind these ridiculous and unfair press guidelines. In 3…2….1…..” Paisley tweeted.
Two hours later, the CMA removed the guidelines.
Sources: Billboard, The New York Times, AP via Page Six, Brad Paisley/Twitter / Featured Image: Disney/ABC Television Group/Flickr / Embedded Images: Maryland GovPics/Flickr, Disney/ABC Television Group/Flickr