America, lets be honest, ok? It's just us talking. It's getting a bit tough to defend, isn't it? But my gun owning friends defend it. 300 million plus guns in America. Other countries think we are nuts. And they are right. They don't have guns and they don't have 33,000 avoidable gun deaths every single year. And no, they don't simply replace those gun deaths with knife deaths. Getting rid of guns SAVES HUMAN LIFE!
I emphasized that last part because so many gun owners I know also claim to support the pro-life movement. It is absolute hypocrisy.
I have been in entertainment professionally for 31 years. I have performed all over the world. I remember touring in the USA in the 1990s and having stalkers following me from show to show. Some would drive 500 miles from night to night. They were dedicated, enthusiastic, but unstable and a bit unhinged. I wasn't entirely sure how to handle it. I treated them with respect and approached them with fear; a fear that I kept to myself. From all indications, that was part of the deal and 'these were my fans' I thought. I owe them something.
Some fans would show up at my concerts with gifts, posing in pics with me, telling others they were dating me, and whispering in my ear nonsense about things we were going to do together this weekend. From whimsical pursuits like 'antiquing' to activities that were over-the-top sexually provocative. Again, these were people I didn't know. They left notes, hotel keys, tried to kiss me, full mouth in front of their friends. They would grope my crotch, front and back while desperately making eye contact, saying 'you can do anything you want to me tonight'. And this was a time before the reality TV boom, before Facebook, before Twitter and Instagram. And certainly before American Idol and The Voice.
One time, one of my regular stalkers came to a show. I had started dating someone close to that time. When she saw me kiss my then new girlfriend and get onto the stage to perform, she became enraged. She was inconsolable. She began screaming obscenities at that girl, harassing her, interrupting my show, sobbing loudly, yelling incoherently, and causing a big scene. It was terrifying. Someone escorted her out and walked her to her car a few blocks away. They wanted to make sure SHE was safe. She obviously was not. No one was.
Years later, I was on tour with Liz opening for Sugarland, Little Big Town, Eric Church, Michelle Branch, LeAnn Rimes, etc... As the opener, we got very little security compared to the main acts. After our set, Liz would go out to sign autographs and meet her fans. My (unspoken) job among other things was to size everyone up and try to distract or redirect anyone who might be a threat. We had a few shows where a fan would bring gifts and act inappropriately possessive or jealous of her. I remember one fan who came to several shows. He was 'in love with her', 'wanted to be her singer' and 'wouldn't take no for an answer'. He demanded I introduce him and take him backstage to sing for her. (He was no singer) 'She NEEDED to meet him' and 'she had NO RIGHT not to make him her singer'. He became more angry and aggressive over time.
Those were a couple of examples among so many others. Far too many to recall.
What strikes me this morning of course is how easily ANY of them can get a gun in America. And how much a high visibility murder-suicide would play into their ultimate fantasy to be recognized by any of us artists, then suddenly gain relevance to the world by killing us followed directly by killing themselves.
I am furious. I feel helpless. I cannot believe this is how we exist now. I know, am close friends with, and have worked with MANY artists who gained prominence and visibility on American Idol, The Voice, and America's Got Talent.
I woke up to the news this morning. The awful, the shocking, the gut wrenching, but ultimately the entirely predictable news about Christina Grimmie. I watched her pre-show video on social media. She was so excited. So full of life. Someday, hopefully in my lifetime, people will learn that this sort of tragedy is COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE.
Private citizens don't need guns and this murderer should never have had one. We have failed as a country. Yet again. This is a story that plays out over and over again. Every single day in America until we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
The second amendment does NOT give anyone the right to do these things. Nor does it give anyone the right to BE ABLE to do them. And if a court can honestly find that it does, well we need to take a moment, study some other countries, take a deep breath, then GET RID OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT or at the very least CHANGE IT DRASTICALLY.
Gun violence needs to be treated like the public health epidemic that it is. It is an epidemic that claims the lives of 33,000 Americans every year and injures another 100,000. It is cancer, it is AIDS, it is ALS, it is no different than any other disease except in one significant way: WE HAVE A TESTED AND PROVEN TREATMENT! Using this treatment can greatly reduce deaths from this illness! And after enough years of treating it, it will look like a CURE. I don't have to sit here and name the countries you can look to as an example. You are all smart. You have google. But please do the research. And become advocates on this matter.
The NRA is a racist hate group (use the google). Worse than that, they go out of their way to keep guns available to private citizens with the greatest of ease, and no restrictions. And who are 'they'? Again go to google, as this is readily available information: but 'they' are the very people who sell the guns, who sell the bullets. They are literally funding, lobbying for, and profiting from the deaths of 33,000 Americans every year and the serious injuries of 100,000 others.
Christina Grimmie had a bright future ahead of her. As entertainers, we are tasked with making all of your lives more manageable. Yes, we make art for a living and that can sometimes seem like a selfish pursuit, but we share our art with you. We open our lives, share our pain, and invite you into our world so that your pain doesn't feel so alone. We hold you in the darkest moments of your lives. When you meet us after our show, in tears, telling us how much a song saved your life, or changed something, or made it ok to be who you are... We feel that to. We share in that moment and it gives us deep meaning and purpose. Our art is supposed to reach you. It is supposed to have meaning. But you do not own us as a result. And you cannot kill us to write the headlines in your fantasy.
I have some hope this morning mixed in with my shock, rage, and numbness. Last night, I was discussing the concealed carry case in the Texas federal appellate courts right now. If that law is upheld, it would prevent 'concealed carry' for the vast majority of Americans. It is a little piece, merely a start, but last night, it would have saved Christina's life.
This murder hits close to home. This preventable murder hurts. They all do. Every single one.
