Chris Russo went off about gun laws and politicians on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday.
Responding to Steve Kerr’s emotional plea to “do something” after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos killed 19 kids and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Russo echoed the points made by the Warriors’ head coach.
“It’s ridiculous. You’re gonna bring up the second amendment and the right to have guns? You’re gonna bring up something that was passed in 1780 and say it applies to today? That is absolutely absurd,” he ranted.
Russo brought up Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz and a local representative, who recently voted against gun control measures in March.
“They voted no on it, and then Abbott gives this speech about how they’re heartbroken,” Russo said. “Well you had a chance to do something about it! You did nothing. And where are they going on Friday, half of them? To an [NRA] convention in Houston, Texas for crying out loud.”
Russo recognized underlying mental health issues, but felt that limiting “disconnected” teens’ ability to “obtain weapons” would be more prudent.
“It’s absolutely absurd. America — shape up, wake up and do something! I don’t care what it is! And yes, there are a million reasons why we have all these 18-year-old kids who feel like they’re disconnected, and feel like they’ve gotta go out there and blow up a supermarket, a school, a movie theater — with armor on! They’re disconnected!
“But I can’t look at every computer! I can’t look at every social media post. I can’t look at every Instagram thing to see what these kids are thinking about. But what I can do, I can limit their ability to obtain weapons! That I can do!”
Russo said that the gun companies do not care about these deaths.
“I understand that gun companies don’t want that. Because they make a ton of money when they sell these assault weapons! So that company, the store, Dick’s Sporting Goods, whatever it was [note: Dick’s stopped selling assault weapons in 2019] in Texas, when they sold those two assault weapons to this kids a couple weeks ago — you think they care? No they don’t! They don’t care. They can say they care, but they don’t, because they do nothing about it.”
He said he lives 20 minutes from Sandy Hook in Connecticut and that it’s a “disgrace” that the country has done nothing in nine years since the Sandy Hook school shooting to stop these massacres.
“This does not happen in Europe, Japan, China, Israel — name the country,” Russo said. “It happens here. The United States of America. Because you politicians, in this case most of them Republicans, and the president, go out and do something!”