Julianne Moore on gun-control support: 'I don't ever want to have to explain another Newtown to my kids'
In an essay published Tuesday in Lena Dunham's newsletter, Lenny, Julianne Moore explains how the Sandy Hook school shooting inspired her to work to prevent gun violence and urges people to join the Everytown for Gun Safety organization, which she is a part of.
The Oscar-winning actress recounts being with her then 10-year-old daughter when she heard about the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. Moore said she was avoiding telling her daughter what happened until she was home with her husband and son, but her daughter discovered the news regardless.
"She picked up her newly acquired phone, with her carefully considered and limited number of apps and her monitored Instagram account, and asked, 'Mommy, did a bunch of little kids get shot today?,' " Moore writes. "At that moment, it felt ridiculous to me, and irresponsible as a parent and as a citizen, that I was not doing something to prevent gun violence. Simply keeping the news away from my child was putting my head in the sand."
Moore goes on to talk about the Second Amendment and said that citizens who choose to bear arms "have a responsibility to bear them safely." She advocates for increasing gun-safety laws and explains how many responsible gun owners also are supportive of stricter background checks.
"A majority of us are on the same side, so why does our country have a gun murder rate 25 times that of other developed countries?" Moore asks. She highlights statistics of gun violence across the United States, pointing out how often women are victims, particularly in domestic violence situations in which a gun is involved.
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Last year, Moore told The Hollywood Reporter she gets criticized for her stance on gun control. "I get more reactions on Twitter about gun safety than anything else," she said. "I don't understand how we're threatening the Second Amendment because we're talking about gun-safety rules. That, to me, is really shocking."
In her Lenny essay, Moore compares the link between gun-safety laws and reduced gun violence to regulations about automobiles and driving accidents, saying cars require licenses, training and safety features.
"We have made car manufacturers beholden to these measures," writes Moore. "We have enacted speed limits and criminalized drunk driving. In the process we have reduced the auto fatality rate by nearly 40 percent in just the past 20 years."
The actress urges Lenny readers to join Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that raises awareness and advocates for stricter gun regulations.
"I don't ever want to have to explain another Newtown to my kids, and neither should you," concludes Moore.
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