Country music singer and gun owner Jason Aldean joined the gun control debate and expressed his support for stronger background checks, and he called for both sides to focus on the real issue.
Last October, Aldean was performing at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas when Stephen Paddock opened fire on the unsuspecting concertgoers. Over 50 people were killed and another 851 were injured during the shooting,
According to ijr.com:
Aldean told the Associated Press (AP), that it’s a “no-win situation” for anyone who offers their opinion on gun control because no matter what side you’re on, “you’re setting yourself up to be crucified.”
As far as Aldean, a gun owner himself, is concerned, the problem isn’t necessarily guns. It’s not enforcing policies that prevent people who shouldn’t have the ability to purchase a gun from getting one.
“It’s too easy to get guns, first and foremost,” the singer explained. “When you can walk in somewhere and you can get one in five minutes, do a background check that takes five minutes, like how in-depth is that background check?”
Although Aldean sees improvements that could be made to possibly prevent mass shootings, he criticized the use of tragedies for the sole purpose of perpetuating political arguments.
“Nobody is looking at what the actual issue is and really how to come to an agreement and make a smart decision,” he told the AP.
The singer explained that he feels a connection to the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School because of their harrowing shared life experience. He said that unless you’ve been through a tragedy like that, it’s difficult to truly understand it.
While the issue of gun control has repeatedly been a conversation in America, the Valentine’s Day shooting in Parkland, Florida, brought it to the forefront of people’s minds. Since the shooting, legislation aimed at preventing future shootings has been enacted.”
Whether you agree with him or not, he’s right about one thing. We need to stop the hostility, put down the rhetoric, look at the real facts, and start solving the problem.
