As America feels the painful effects of gun violence and mass shootings, everyone seems to have an opinion on gun control.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow weighed in on the debate. Burrow said he thinks it should be more difficult to get a gun in the USA.
Burrow was asked about the issue during a mini-camp press conference.
You can see his response below.
Burrow said:
“With everything that’s going on, if you’re not going to outlaw everything, you’ve gotta at least make it harder to get those crazy guns that everybody is using.”
“I don’t think you should be able to just walk in there and buy one. You gotta be able to go through a rigorous process to be able to buy something like that, I think.”
While not mentioned by name, it’s assumed Burrow was referring to AR-15 style rifles used in shootings like the murders in Uvalde, TX. The gunman legally purchased the weapon in Texas just days before the shooting.
Burrow’s opinion was met with agreement from fans, new and old alike.
The response from Burrow continued, with the quarterback saying:
“Hopefully the people that get paid to make those decisions figure that out. My job is to play football, but hopefully the politicians can figure that one out.”
And it seems the outrage form the public finally started pushing politicians to ‘figure that one out.’
Reports have surfaced of a bipartisan effort to push through gun control reform with at least 10 Republican senators—enough to break the filibuster they've used to derail all other progress in the Senate.
However, it may not be enough.
While President Joe Biden pushed for sweeping reform that would ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm and require universal background checks, the bipartisan bill is more limited in nature.
Despite this, the push does reflect public opinion on support for gun control.
Burrow’s comments brought some gun rights defenders out of the woodwork, but they were quickly reprimanded for their hypocrisy.
Burrow’s comments come as more public figures are pushing for gun control laws.
Uvalde born actor, Matthew McConaughey has been pushing for gun control in light of the devastating shooting.
And back in the sports world, NBA coach Steve Kerr made an impassioned plea for amending federal gun regulations.
