'Trainwreck' Star Amy Schumer Urges More Gun Control Following Mass Louisiana Theater Shooting
"Trainwreck" star Amy Schumer started a public push for more gun control along with her cousin U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer on Monday.
The two cousins began a new team effort to publicly address the issue of allowing violent criminals, domestic abusers and the mentally ill to obtain firearms too easily, according to Sen. Schumer's website.
Amy decided to talk out about the mass shootings in America after finding out that the most recent incident occurred when her movie was showing, killing two women and injuring nine other people.
"I am teaming up with actress Amy Schumer to address the far too common and far too tragic issue of gun violence in this country, and today, we are demanding that Congress take this issue very seriously," the senator said.
"If there is anything that the mass shootings in Lafayette, Chattanooga, Charleston, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Sandy Hook and so many other places have taught us, it's that we should be do everything in our power to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of hateful evil-doers and the mentally ill -- however, the U.S. is not doing enough and too many lives are at stake."
Amy spoke tearfully as she asked lawmakers to support a gun control bill sponsored by her cousin, ABC News reports according to AP.
"People say, 'Well, you're never going to be able to stop crazy people from doing crazy things,' but they're wrong. There is a way to stop them," she said referring to the bill.
The theater gunman, John Russell Houser, had a history of mental illness. The gun he used to shoot 11 people last month before turning it on himself was bought legally at a pawn shop in Alabama last year.
The background check for that gun failed to mention Houser's history of psychiatric problems and his repeated domestic violence complaints.
Amy is most known for her humor on women's sexuality and gender inequality and is not afraid to add gun control to her list.
"I'll handle it the way I've handled it the last 10 years," she said. "I've had death threats and a lot of hate directed toward me. But I want to be proud of the way I'm living and what I stand for."
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