Olivia Rodrigo calls for “stricter gun control’ after Texas school shooting
"I wish we would never have to worry about our safety or our lives at places that are dedicated to our learning and growing,” said Rodrigo on Tuesday night
Olivia Rodrigo is the latest celebrity to condemn Tuesday’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead, telling a Los Angeles crowd that she was “devastated” by the news.
“I wish we would never have to worry about our safety or our lives at places that are dedicated to our learning and growing,” Rodrigo said during her performance at the Greek Theater. “And I’m so heartbroken that this is the reality that we’re living in — and we need stricter gun control laws in America.”
Rodrigo’s comments come after numerous public figures, including Taylor Swift and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, spoke out against the violence. “Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde,” Swift tweeted. “By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others. By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak.”
Swift then shared a now-viral video of a pre-game speech from Kerr, in which the coach makes an emotional appeal to lawmakers and Americans. “When are we going to do something?” the eight-time NBA champion yelled. “I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am so tired of the, excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!” Kerr specifically accused Republican senators of refusing to vote on Senate Bill H.R.8, also known as the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, in order to “hold on to power.”
This marks the second time in recent weeks that the “Drivers License” singer has used her newfound platform to share her views on pressing social issues. At a show in Washington D.C. earlier this month, Rodrigo addressed the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade and spoke out in favor of abortion rights. “Our bodies should never be in the hands of politicians,” she said. “I hope we can raise our voices to protect our right to have a safe abortion, which is a right that so many people before us have worked so hard to get.”