Whether you are an NBA fan or not, it is worth listening to what Steve Kerr had to say in his recent podcast with the San Jose Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami summarized in this blog post: blogs.mercurynews.com/...
Kawakami was wrapping up the podcast about the Warriors’ loss to the Cavs in the NBA Finals, thanking Kerr for taking the time to sit down with him, when Kerr interrupted to ask if he could say a few words. What followed was an epic take on gun violence in America.
This quote is probably the best:
“I just have to get this off my chest: Our government is insane.
“We are insane, and what bugs me is this adherence to the right to bear arms. That was back in 1776 when people didn’t own automatic rifles.
“You had to have a musket in case the redcoats were coming. And the British were coming. And the beautiful thing about the Constitution is they left open amendments to change things because things change over time.
“I kind of think that our forefathers would not have OK’d automatic weapons to be sold to everybody if they existed back then. Let’s have some checks. It’s easier to get a gun than a driver’s license. It’s insane.
I’d encourage anyone interested to listen to the podcast itself, to get a sense of the urgency in Kerr’s voice. The political stuff begins around the 30-minute mark. And, yes, when he says “automatic” weapons, he is obviously referring to semi-automatic weapons.
Bravo to Steve Kerr for the courage to stand up and speak out. And bravo to Tim Kawakami for allowing him the platform to do so.