The deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history has renewed conversations about America's gun laws, after one man strafed a country music festival from a high-rise hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday. The attack prompted a musician who played at the festival to say he's changed his mind — and that the U.S. needs new gun control.
"I've been a proponent of the 2nd Amendment my whole life," guitarist Caleb Keeter
said in a tweeted statement
Keeter said that one man — who police identified as Stephen Craig Paddock — "laid waste to a city with dedicated, fearless police officers desperately trying to help, because of access to an insane amount of fire power."
He added, "Enough is enough" before adding later, "We need gun control RIGHT. NOW."
Keeter is a guitarist for the Josh Abbott Band. Hours before Jason Aldean's show
was shattered by gunfire and bullets rained
His response is one of
many in the country music community
Some of the band's crew members suffered shrapnel wounds, Keeter said, because of the power of the weapons being used. They had been standing close to someone who was shot. And despite having their own weapons, they were unable to defend themselves.
"We actually have members of our crew with CHL [concealed handgun license] licenses, and legal firearms on the bus," Keeter said. "They were useless. We couldn't touch them for fear the police might think that we were part of the massacre and shoot us."
He described writing to his loved ones and creating a living will, as performers, fans, and staff tried to find safety during the prolonged assault.
Sunday night's attack left 527 people injured and 59 people dead. Police say Stephen Paddock brought a small arsenal to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino so he could carry out an attack on thousands of people.
"We have recovered 23 firearms at Mandalay Bay, and 19 firearms at his home in Mesquite," Las Vegas Assistant Sheriff Todd Fasulo said.
Paddock is known to have bought some of his firearms at the Guns and Guitars store near where he lived in Mesquite, Nevada. The store has said via a statement, "All necessary background checks and procedures were followed" in Paddock's purchases. It's one of several gun shops or firing ranges that have acknowledged having contact with investigators about Paddock,
NBC News reports
Keeter's message found a large audience. It was liked more than 100,000 times and retweeted more than 50,000 times.
The message sparked a number of replies, from people asking why other tragedies — such as the
Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012
"It's frustrating that some don't call the fire dept until the blaze is at their own front door," a Twitter user named Heather Maravola wrote. "But we need more ppl on our side. Welcome."
In response,
Keeter wrote
In speaking out, Keeter also raised the hopes of a Twitter user who said they hope the issue can move from a left vs. right dynamic "to actually enacting common sense gun laws."
Opinion polls have shown
large majorities of Americans agree
"Congress has not made a concerted effort to pass gun legislation since 2013,"
NPR's Susan Davis reports
Susan adds that so far in 2017, Republicans' action on guns "has focused on expanding gun rights" — including making it easier to buy silencers and to nationalize concealed-carry laws.
And then there are the financial angles. After Sunday's shooting, the stock prices of large gun makers rose sharply. As
Marketplace reported
Those price hikes are part of a cycle that's fueled by mass shootings, Rob Cox, global editor at
Reuters Breakingviews
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