CINCINNATI — More than a week after several NFL teams announced support for the “Wear Orange” campaign on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said legislators should “make it harder” for people to get the guns used in recent mass shootings.
The Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and more recognized Gun Violence Awareness Day on social media June 3. The Washington Commanders, alongside other sports teams in the nation’s capital, announced they were donating more than $85,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety’s Community Safety Fund.
Cincinnati did not make any social media posts or announcements, though Burrow was asked about his thoughts on gun reform Tuesday during a press conference.
“With everything that’s going on, if you’re not gonna outlaw everything, you’ve gotta at least make it harder to get those crazy guns that everybody’s using,” Burrow said. “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.”
The U.S. House passed June 8 a wide-ranging gun control bill that included enhancing background checks, though it has almost no chance of passing the Senate. Instead, Senate Republicans have backed a bipartisan gun agreement that would make it more difficult for people aged 18 to 20 to buy firearms among other measures.
“Hopefully the people that get paid to make those decisions figure that out,” Burrow said. “My job is to play football, but hopefully the politicians can figure that one out.”
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval shared video of Burrow’s answer, saying, “This is what leadership looks like.”
“(Burrow) is loved and followed by so many of us for how he represents our city on the field, and he continues to use his powerful voice for good,” Pureval said. “Our quarterback stands with Cincinnatians in demanding action on gun violence.”
This is what leadership looks like. @JoeyB is loved and followed by so many of us for how he represents our city on the field, and he continues to use his powerful voice for good.
Our quarterback stands with Cincinnatians in demanding action on gun violence. https://t.co/Pgt2O9UT1F
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) June 14, 2022
Burrow’s comments come after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill changing the requirements to be armed on school grounds from 700 hours to 24 hours. School boards will now be able to choose to arm specific staff members and mandate what the governor’s office called “reasonable training requirements.”
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