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Country Artist Flips Stance on Gun Control After Surviving Vegas Shooting Massacre
"I've been a proponent of the 2nd amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night."
Gunfire tore through the streets of Las Vegas last night as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock fired assault rifles into the crowd of a country music festival from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 people and injuring 515 others. It was the deadliest shooting in US history.
The Josh Abbott Band played on the main stage of the music festival just hours before the shooting began, and were among those scared for the lives.
The incident has shaken their guitarist, Caleb Keeter, so much that he has changed his political stance on gun control. "I've been a proponent of the 2nd amendment my entire life," he wrote on Twitter. "Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was."
Even though people around him had their own legal weapons, Keeter felt helpless at the scene. "We actually have members of our crew with CHL licences, and legal firearms on the bus. They were useless. We couldn't touch them for fear police might think that we were part of the massacre and shoot us."
Members of his crew were hit by shrapnel from the rounds. "Enough is enough," he added. "We need gun control RIGHT. NOW.
"My biggest regret is that I stubbornly didn't realize it until my brothers on the road and myself were threatened by it."
But why did it take such a horrific personal experience to see the need for stricter gun control laws? Twitter users wondered the same thing.
\u201c@Calebkeeter It's frustrating that some don't call the fire dept until the blaze is at their own front door. But we need more ppl on our side. Welcome.\u201d— Heather M\u1d2e\u1d31\ud83e\uddc8\ud83d\udd7a\ud83c\udf0c (@Heather M\u1d2e\u1d31\ud83e\uddc8\ud83d\udd7a\ud83c\udf0c) 1506973986
Keeter acknowledged the error in judgement and would like to make things right.
We have to learn from the past to keep it from repeating and make sure this kind of mass shooting never happens again.
After everything, Keeter refuses to let fear hold him back.
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
